After Many a Summer
by RickandSummer
Summary: "I seriously wanna be just like you, Grandpa Rick." "Fuck that, kid. Be better than me." Summer nodded. Rick smiled softly, staring at the teen as her eyes widened to comedic proportions out the window. "You know what, no one can be greater than I am, so just stick to being like me." "Okay." "That a girl." And Rick decided, she saved his life once, why not save hers?
1. Who is the Rickest of Them All

**After Many a Summer**

 **Hello, people. This is so weird because this is my first story on this account, but it isn't my first fanfic. Check my profile for the deets, my people. However, this is my first Rick and Morty Fanfiction.**

 **Summary: "I wanna be just like you, Grandpa Rick." "Fuck that, kid. Be better than me." Summer nodded. Rick smiled softly, staring at the teen as her eyes widened to comedic proportions out the window. "You know what, no one can be greater than I am, so just stick to being like me." "Okay." "That a girl."**

 **If some of you came for a story about Rick and** _ **Morty,**_ **I am so sorry. Because Summer Smith is by far my favorite character, I wanted to somehow recreate Rick and Morty with Summer taking Morty's place. If some of you aren't interested, you really don't have to read this. Hm.**

 **Anyway, this is purely fanfiction, meaning that besides the characters of Rick and Morty, and a few ideas, most ideas belong to me.**

 **Also, Rick and Summer are two very complexed as well as complicated characters. Seeing the deep emotions of Rick and giving reason to the crazy emotions of Summer is a privilege few of us have. Hehe.**

 **And finally, this story has adventure, but it seldom follows the comic or television series. Moreso, it focuses on the relationship of the characters.**

 **So I do hope you all enjoy this story because it's starting now. Tout de Suite.**

 **Who is the Rickest of Them All**

" _I always knew she'd become a surgeon."_

 _Rick turned with a grimace on the bar stool to Rick Sanchez of Earth Dimension J19Z7, otherwise known as Doofus Rick._

 _Despite knowing everything, he didn't know why the idiot sat near him at the citadel's bar._

" _What the fuck are you on about?"_

 _The Doofus Rick smiled brightly and pushed closer to Rick. "Beth. She's finally becoming a surgeon."_

" _You don't have a -eurp- a Beth, dumbass."_

 _The other smiled. "I know, but it's good to know that if I did, she'd be a surgeon. Although, I'm opposed to her not keeping the child."_

The short conversation sent Rick searching around. After leaving when Beth was just ten, the man hadn't seen his daughter in nearly ten years.

The other Ricks confirmed what Doofus said. Beth had somehow, despite Rick once telling her to keep away from the human race, gotten knocked up the night of her senior prom by some fucking loser by the name of Jerry.

It didn't matter anyway. Because every Rick had told him that she'd gotten an abortion and ditched the loser, finding her path at med school.

Rick had been proud of his only child. She'd gotten her mother's good looks and kind heart, but if there was anything he'd wanted her to have, it was his intelligence.

Whether it be the intelligence to understand atomic manipulation or the intelligence to stay the fuck away from the human race, he was fine with it.

So maybe he'd stop in on his own Beth to see how she was doing. To see how well she'd been. To see how far she'd gotten without him.

Clearing his head, the drunkard grabbed his portal gun, shifting the coordinates to Earth Dimension C-137, not yet knowing that he'd receive more than any Rick could ever bargain for.

* * *

Despite his gruff and uncaring personality, the memory of his daughter made him sad. He could often remember how much she clung to him as a child. How often he would reveal more and more about the fucked up universe as she sat on his lap, his voice hoarse and heroic to her ears.

But he never really thought back because, fuck that, Ricks didn't get 'sad.' Often enough, they'd drink their problems away. But the feeling of Nostalgia did not miss his mind when he showed up aways from Beth's kitchen window. Because his daughter, after all these years, remained beautiful.

Beth had always had a sort of understated beauty because she'd always been unaware of it. She stood at the kitchen sink scrubbing away with dishes, giving half the attention to that and half of it to someone behind her; her teeth held tight and her eyes annoyed.

Curious as he was, Rick moved around the nice house to find out more. The home itself was beautiful. Beth had really outdid herself with this one. It was large and seemed comfy, at least two stories high with a large backyard. Her surgeon work was paying off, and Rick felt proud.

Opening a window slightly, he crawled in with his head down. It was a tight spot to get in, but he did his best not to mess up anything and alert his daughter.

"Fuck." the hiss was nearly silent as he stood and froze. A feeling had come over him. And there was really not a single word to describe the feeling he felt as he stared at the small child within the crib.

He felt lost and confused, but happy and certain. Like a ball of tangled yarn. The parts that were untangled were available, useable; the rest was a mess, useless until it was untied. That mess felt endless and at most times unyielding.

"Fuck." Came the hiss again. He'd repeated it, which almost seemed profound, as if maybe he'd been drinking a bit too much and the fears he'd drunk away had manifested themselves.

Because his Beth had kept the child.

She was silent, oblivious to the yelling downstairs as her chubby hands assessed what seemed to be a television remote. Despite his conflicted feelings, Rick remained watching her. Beth had to be around nineteen and getting pregnant her senior year made the child at least a year old.

She had to take after her loser of a father because her facial features, although pretty, weren't his or Beth's. Unlike him or his daughter, the child had ginger tufts, sticking every which way.

He snorted softly. _Just like Grandpa,_ he thought.

After a while, the child took to chewing on the rubber buttons of her desired device and somehow, the yelling downstairs grew louder.

"The remote was just here yesterday, Beth! If you don't want me to watch television, just say it!" The pathetic voice must have been that of her loser husband.

"Jerry…" Hearing the voice of his daughter after nine years almost made him smile had it not been this circumstance. "If I didn't want you watching _my_ TV, I would make that clear. Why don't you spend time with your daughter instead of lazing around?"

"Don't put Summer on me, Beth. She's fine. And don't make it seem like I'm a bad father because you're the one who wanted to get an abortion."

"If I hadn't gotten that flat tire…."

Rick chose the moment to drown out the argument and look back at….Summer. What kind of a name was that? Rick was sure about a thousand kids had that name. She chewed ferociously on the rubber buttons and he winced.

"You stole it, huh?" He knew she wouldn't answer and he was ready for some cries when her head turned sharply in his direction.

Summer regarded him for a while, assessing his question, he supposed. Eventually, a small glint overtook her eyes, as if she knew she stole it.

Rick looked away slightly. _So I guess she isn't like her loser of a father._ "That's kind of a dick move, kid. Making y-y-you're parents argue like that."

"Abbababaa" She nearly yelled.

He looked back to her, but the child's attention remained on the buttons before her. "And it's pretty- pretty dangerous too."

His eyes caught the pacifier upon her dresser and he reluctantly moved forward, grabbing the small object.

He wasn't the best father he could have been, but he knew if any of those buttons unleashed, Beth would be saying goodbye to her child. And still, it was obvious the one year old was teething.

Grabbing the remote from her grasp, the scientist quickly placed the pacifier in Summer's mouth. "There. You gotta- gotta really be careful, kid. No one likes a mischievous brat."

Despite what he thought, Summer did not cry, but only stared at him with her big eyes narrowed.

"I know you're teething or whatever, just use that."

After a while, Summer's attempt at anger subsided and she took to sucking the pacifier with ease. She seemed stubborn, like he and Beth. And he smiled because obviously she was giving that loser Jerry hell.

But still, some Beths had been smart enough to give what would be Summer up. They became surgeons or doctors, anything but housewives. Of course there were some who kept the baby, but rid themselves of Jerry. And then there were some who'd gotten rid of the baby, but still chose to marry Jerry, hoping to have a child at the right time.

And yet, all those Beths were successful. If Beth kept the baby and the loser, how the hell did she have a nice home?

Rick walked around the crib as Summer kept her curious gaze on him. "Not really like your dad. Of course, you look like him, but you're kind of like me."

Summer smiled wide at something in the air, paying no attention to Rick at all. Still, when she smiled her pacifier met gravity and some gargled spit kissed her chin.

Rick laughed loudly then, grabbing the baby and raising her high. "Just like me."

Summer giggled loudly and Rick supposed she was a happy child, despite hearing her parents argue over the dumbest shit.

Summer made grabby hands for his face and hair and he let the girl touch the blue locks. "Pretty neat, huh?" He questioned.

Beth's voice cut him off as he heard soft footsteps marching at a steady pace.

Summer was returned to her crib and Rick put a finger to his lips as he moved to her closet. He could have left, but he wanted to see Beth. He wanted to see how Beth treated her own daughter.

The door opened and in came Beth, not a year over nineteen. Rick grit his teeth at the wet marks on her face. But not so much, because he knew that pussy Jerry was crying too.

Summer turned away from the closet and looked to her mother, making grabby hands. "Aah. Ababab."

Despite what she'd said downstairs about fate and the abortion, Beth stood straighter, stronger and smiled at her child.

"Hi, baby. Hi. Hi." She lifted Summer and kissed her face all over. "I'm so sorry you have to hear all this. Me and your dad are just really stressed right now. And you know nothing is your fault."

Summer did not regard her words, but kept her eyes on Beth's.

Beth inhaled and sat her down back in the crib. "Mommy loves you. You know that, right?"

Summer stayed silent, listening to Beth as she sang while cleaning around the pink room.

And just as she kissed Summer one more time and left, Summer's big eyes went back to the closet.

Rick moved out and smiled. "Just me. Grandpa Rick."

The name sounded weird rolling from his tongue. Foreign and memorable and undeserving.

And still, he couldn't deny the pride that coursed through him. The fact that he was one of the few Ricks who could call themselves a grandfather. At least for now.

Summer's eyes darted to her dresser and she whimpered slightly, pushing her tubby fingers forward. His own eyes averted to the bottle of milk upon her dresser, right where he'd placed the remote.

"You hungry, kid?"

Summer whimpered again and pushed forward, nodding her heavy head as Rick grabbed the bottle and moved even closer.

"Chill, kid. I haven't done this shit in like twenty- twenty years." He grabbed the one year old and tucked her in a cradle position against his chest. Again, the foreign, nearly proud, feeling coursed through him as Summer greedily grabbed the bottle and began drinking its contents.

"Geez, Summer. It's not going anywhere." He nearly grimaced, but unconsciously pulled her closer to him. "You were really hungry, huh?"

Her big eyes found his and she laughed, as only a baby could laugh. A sweet sound unblemished by the hurts of life. Her little face glowed from a light within, and her miniature fingers grasped Rick's, and held tight.

His eyes widened. She knew.

Somehow it felt like Summer knew that he needed comfort in the dead silence of the day; she knew he needed joy in the midst of his pain. And so Rick held her just a little tighter, reluctantly vowing to never let the precious bundle go. No matter what came, he would protect her. Even to the point of death.

Summer was a bit frail, so it was no surprise that she moved the bottle away from her mouth and yawned. Grabbing hold of Rick's wrist, her eyes fluttered for some time before closing. Rick smiled. Even her snores were tranquil.

"You know, kid." He began, knowing she couldn't hear. "I always knew I was more Rick than any other. I always knew that whatever happened in my dimension was the original way to do things. The other Ricks had Beths that ditched your dumb father; Beths that gave you up any way they could. If they kept you, they ditched Jerry or even vice versa. But, I suppose you aren't _that_ annoying. And I guess you're not a dipshit like you're father. And Beth doesn't treat you like a pain in the ass. My Beth kept you and the loser and she seems successful. Maybe that was the right thing to do? So what do you say, huh? Rick and Summer for one hundred years?"

Later, when he left C-137, he thought maybe he could try the family thing out in some year.

Scaunchy had asked him countless times why he was so obsessed with whatever was going on in C-137. Because there wasn't a year where Rick didn't peek in. On Summer's birthday. Her first day of school. The birth of Morty Smith. Summer's growth of imaginary friends as her parents coddled Morty, the expected child, more and more.

Hed seen her first crush. And her second. Her nervousness for high school. He'd seen her display her report card to her parents, none of them ever containing a B, C, D, or F. He'd seen her become second in her class, despite her chill personality.

But what he'd seen the most was Summer falling deeper into an unconscious hole. The one where she'd been ignored so much that she needed attention.

Scaunchy stared at him as he pushed an arm through his lab coat. "Where the scaunch are you going?"

Rick inhaled then exhaled. "Home." He spoke evenly.

The scruffy cat-person raised a brow. "You haven't been home in nearly twenty years, though."

 _Not that home,_ he wanted to say. He was going to Summer. The other Ricks had already started taking their Mortys around on crazy adventures. But Summer seemed to be into knowledge and science more than anything. Home wasn't exactly Beth's nice house that smelled of purple flowers.

But Summer. Home was right where he'd left it. Summer was somehow still in his arms all those years ago. It was, perhaps, why he traveled so lightly, never venturing too far from C-137. He needed only the memory to be healthy and whole and that was something he trusted only Summer to give.

So Rick decided, she saved his life once….why not save hers?

"I know. I guess it's just time to go back."

 **Hope you all liked the prologue. This isn't a one-shot. If anyone has read my UzumakiFlame stories, I tend to update over a three day span. My updates are NEVER a week apart. Love you all. :)**


	2. Just in the Rick of Time

**Just in the Rick of Time**

Summer's life was a sort of cycle; a rollercoaster she'd kept getting on, not being able to stop.

She rode it daily. She would wake up and hear arguing. And maybe she'd turn to the conductor of the ride and tell them she wanted out. But they shook their heads. The seatbelts had been tightened. The cart began moving.

And as she went up this rollercoaster, there was some anxiousness in her heart, the heavy beating that she'd unconsciously wanted to stop.

School was anxiousness inside a facility. There, she was ignored too. Although an exceptional teenage girl, breasts and all, her salutatorian status made her a mole. To the popular kids- the ones with all the attention, the ones who had perfect parents- Summer was with or against them.

And when she'd gotten home, she'd finally reached the top. It came. The drop. The climax. The loop of depression.

Her mother's voice downstairs. "It wasn't me that called getting a flat tire on the way to the clinic a sign!"

She knew that loop was going to make her throwup.

And soon after, the ride died down. When her parents made up, Summer was dizzy, holding tight to the railings of the roller coaster.

And the worst part about getting on that ride….was that it didn't surprise her anymore.

The teen curled up into a ball, as if maybe the pain she felt would disappear. Maybe if she held her stomach tight enough, her parents would feel her pain and stop fucking arguing.

But they didn't. They wouldn't. It was always something stupid that triggered them. And she had no biases. She blamed them both.

Blamed her dad for not being strong enough. He whined so much and never got a job and felt respected when it meant nothing.

Blamed her mother for being too strong. She was too prideful and wanted her husband to know that she had the balls in the relationship. She was stubborn.

She blamed herself. If she hadn't popped up in her mother's stomach, they wouldn't be so bitter. It hurt so badly. And there was no way to describe the feeling in her stomach that made it churn. Made her eyes burn. Made wants and needs appear for her.

She wanted attention.

She wanted her parents happy.

She wanted out.

She wanted to die.

And if there was some God up there, she hoped he heard it. Because, damnit, she couldn't take it anymore. How many nights had she stayed awake, letting the razor kiss her arms, where she hid the bruises with bracelets?

That decision hurt everyone too. Beth had taken one look at her new flashy bracelets and smiled.

 _Honey,_ she spoke softly, _I love your new bracelets._

She would have smiled until her dad, so idiotic that she loved him, spoke up.

 _Do you have to wear red with them, though? Your pink shirt doesn't really matc-_

 _Jerry,_ her mother had hissed.

Morty, to Summer, had been the perfect little brother, despite her lack of proving it. He'd smiled softly at Summer, seeing her pain. _You know, you know. I kind of like the new look. She looks great with or without them._

He'd killed their petty argument before it started. And for that Summer was grateful.

Breaking her stupid thoughts, Summer stood with a huff and walked to the bathroom. It was a Sunday, so she had no way of escaping to school. She'd have to live with this.

Staring into the mirror made her wish. Wish that she was Alice and it was a stupid wish, so her eyes filled with tears and she groaned, pulling her hair and telling her thoughts to shut up.

She hated this feeling. She knew she was depressed, but there was really no way to describe it. Not even words like sad. The feeling was strange; too familiar yet too strange. Summer never knew how to define it. She wanted to smile, laugh along with everyone but something in her always held her heart tight, crushing it to pieces. The brightness inside of her was gulped by something dark.

No, she was wrong to say it was dark - it was empty, nothing else.

She dressed quickly and put on her bracelets, feeling stupid that she'd cut some time ago and the scars remained. Her dad was right. They did look dumb. But they needed to stay put….just until the slashes faded on her fair skin.

Walking downstairs in a huff, Summer smiled at Morty, who took notice of her. "Morning, Summer."

She messed up his curly hair. "Hey there, boogerhead."

He smiled softly, fixing his hair.

Tentatively, the teen sat at the far end of the table, realizing the tense atmosphere. Her mother noticed her then.

"Good morning, sweetie. Did you have a good night's rest?"

"Yeah, mom." She lied easily.

Summer then took notice of her father, who looked up from his tablet with a grimace. "Summer." He nearly whined. "Do you have to wear those things every day?"

Efficiently, the girl rolled her eyes. "Dad, these are like the hottest things in school right now. Everyone's wearing them."

"You don't need to wear them on a Su-"

"Jerry. Could you let your daughter be herself for once?"

And the argument ensued. Summer caught Morty's eyes and the boy smiled apologetically. Morty knew he wasn't the prom night knock up baby. And he didn't care if his parents loved each other or not. Unlike Summer, he had someone who looked out for him and made sure he was never alone all years of his life. That someone was Summer.

Her lips curved slightly too.

"Geez. You know. I wish you two would- _eurp_ \- would shut up and get a divorce already."

The stammered voice was coarse like fragmented rock in hessian sack, moving and grinding against each other.

The Smith family looked up in unison. Somehow, the voice complimented his ruddy complexion and raised veins.

The old man wiped blue hair from eyes as dark as the night sky and fixed them in a serious gaze.

Summer had seen him before. He hung on the walls in every hallway. He was the whisper in her mother's mouth when she sobbed to her husband, drunk at night. And, despite never seeing him in person, Summer felt that they'd met before.

She regarded her family members.

Beth was frozen in her seat, staring and not staring at the newcomer all at once.

Jerry seemed hostile, afraid. He knew this man, of course. Growing up, this old man was always known to him as the pretty girl's crazy ass father. And now his wife's crazy ass father.

Morty was, for lack of a better word, mortified. He knew little about Rick; good or bad in his mother's and father's eyes respectively.

Summer stood. "Grandpa Rick?" She asked, almost hopeful.

Her child-like murmur had somehow broken the tense silence. It was somehow comforting and spoke for itself, peaceful in a way where Rick could feel at home and know that no matter what was happening, she was forever there for all of them.

They watched as the man did a small dance and opened his arms as if to say 'it's better than expected, right?'

"The one and only, baby." he answered.

Jerry's stupor broke first. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" He asked.

Rick raised his hands in a surrender motion. "Calm your tits, Jerry. I'm unarmed. Unless of course I can use my intelligence to manipulate you."

Jerry glowered. "Beth..what the hell is he doing in my house?"

Beth's stupor was broken then. "Jerry...don't forget that I payed for this house. Dad could you…"

Her sentence was never finished as she left the kitchen, probably walking to a room down the hall. Rick followed behind and Jerry, who didn't want to feel inferior, followed in a heap.

Summer and Morty looked to one another. Morty's expression cracked and soon he was clutching his stomach, trying to contain his laughter.

He'd always been so happy, so Summer just shook her head with a smile. "Meanie." She muttered.

Morty just continued to laugh. "Did you, s-see their faces when he spoke, Summer?"

She couldn't deny that seeing both her parents shut the hell up like ventriloquist dummies was funny. And she couldn't deny Morty's carefree, beautiful laugh.

Morty had always been a good natured person. So unlike any of them. His laughter wasn't like anyone else's. The laugh was in his eyes, in the way his face changed into that vision of relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth. Yet truly, it wasn't in his face either. His laugh came from within, it was just the way he was wired. People like him just had more flexible brains.

All that humour bubbling around in him was like yoga for the synapses. Just being around him for a few minutes was better than a whole day of self-absorbed pampering. Just the sound of his gales, his snickers, his giggles, was enough to transport Summer far far away from her worries and the tension modern life had given her.

The seventeen year old rubbed the fourteen year old's head. "It was pretty hilarious, wasn't it boogerhead?"

Neither of the two laughing teens noticed the three people who walked back into the room.

"Kids...what's so funny?" Their mother asked.

Summer shook her head. "Morty just likes telling jokes, is all. Nothing serious."

She regarded them for a moment. "What's going on?"

Beth moved forward. "Kids, your grandfather's going to be staying with us for a little while."

She watched them with a hopeful gaze. Summer shrugged first and went back to eating. Morty nodded. "Y-yeah sure. That sounds cool."

Rick smiled and raised his hands in the air. "Alright. Let's eat!"

Beth made him a plate and the family sat, eating. It was a bit tense. Beth seemed happier while Jerry ate his food in a melancholy manner.

Rick ate diligently.

"So…" the ginger began. "Did you go on any awesome adventures, Grandpa Rick?"

Jerry winced. "Summer... sweetie don't talk with your mouth ful-"

"Hell yeah." The scientist interrupted. "You know, Summer. You gotta- you gotta. You know sometimes you just gotta stop and smell the roses."

Summer nodded with a wide grin. "Can I come sometime? Senior project is coming up and I want to do something really cool."

"Of course. I'll need you on my adventures anyway."

Jerry groaned, making everyone stare at him. "Summer, chew and swallow before you speak. And Rick, no. No, not at all. Summer is doing very fine in the school she's enrolled in. She's salutatorian. I'm not going to let you ruin that."

Again, her mother's hiss came and Summer was beginning to think that saying _Jerry_ in a spiteful manner was the action of the year.

"Summer is too intelligent to give up her position. And I think it'll be nice for her to bond with her grandpa. She hangs out with your parents all the time."

"Y-yeah, Jerry. Gotta go with Beth on this one. Summer's got potential and if you want her to hang out wi- _eurp_ \- dumb people, be the bad guy."

Jerry's face became anxious then. " _Yes."_ He replied incredulously. "If you're saying I want her to hang out with teens her age, then yes."

"Message received, dumbass."

" _Rick!"_

" _Dad!"_

Summer rolled her eyes. "Alright I'm done with breakfast. Are you coming, Morty?'

Morty smiled gratefully and stood too.

"Wait...where are you two headed? We just started?"

Summer bit her lip. "I promised I'd take this dork to the comic store. It opens up soon."

"Well can't you two just finish your breakfast?"

"Dad, we're done."

* * *

"Aww, geez. Do you see- you have to see this one, Summer. This is the newest issue."

Summer looked around the colorful store. Besides them, there was a band of geeks gushing over something in the corner and a bored cashier.

"Alright, weirdo. Hurry and and get what you want."

"It's not weird, Summer. It's normal for teenage boys to have small obsessions."

She smirked. "Yeah. Better than masturbating in your room all day." Her laugh was loud as Morty grew red and glared at her.

"Don't say things like that in a public place." He scolded.

"Hm. Just come on."

When they returned home, it was silent besides the sound of the television. Morty was quick to sit on the couch and indulge in his fetishes.

"Thanks, Summer."

"Don't mention it. Just don't get your drool on the table."

The boy just laughed, leaving Summer to herself, who stood for some time watching him.

It was odd, and although she never displayed it like a trophy, Morty was very important to her. Like all siblings, they had their fair share of fights, but they loved each other, obviously. But Morty was her rock. Morty came into her bed at night and curled near her, lying about the arguing bothering him. Morty asked if she was okay. Morty never missed a day to say 'I love you, Summer.' Morty wanted her to know that she was so important to him.

Morty wanted her alive, even when she didn't.

"Summer, come quick. I need you in here."

The girl turned behind, finding her grandfather walking into the garage.

She inhaled, scratched a bit at her bracelets and strided forward. He seemed to be all set up, hunched over some sort of flying object.

"Yeah, grandpa Rick?"

"Hand me that screwdriver, will ya?"

She did as told. There was some muttering on Rick's part. And she leaned just a bit closer to hear him. The words tumbled from his lips like little pebbles onto sand. They dropped too fast for her to catch them and landed softly in his lap. Each word seemed to flow seamlessly into the next and was spoken so softly that it caressed her ears without transferring any meaning.

"Alright, motherfucka!" He stood. "Want to try out my new space cruiser?"

She bit her lip, attempting to contain her excitement. "Sure."

The cruiser really did go into space. And Summer consumed the luxury of just being so close.

She'd grown up this way. When her father relished in his room about the Titanic and her mother was busy at work, she'd be sitting on the livingroom floor at just four years old. And maybe she didn't really know how to change the channel, but there was always National Geographic.

There wasn't a year Summer missed a space documentary. Whether the camera explored Mars or the rings of Saturn, her eyes stayed glued to the television.

It was a dark blanket, contrasting with blacks and yellows, and the occasional white, which was shaped as a circle and sometimes a crescent. There were stars dotting the blanket in a intricate pattern. This was space.

"Oh my gosh. This is so cool." She squealed, feeling like a child as she planted her face against the glass. "Do you always do this?"

"Yeah. Told you, Summer. You gotta stop. You gotta smell the roses, S-S-Summer. There's more- _eurp_ \- more than just earth, you know."

Like her mother, she had dreams to go places. She didn't know if she wanted to be an Astrophysicist or an Aerospace engineer, but her path was chosen in that field.

"I seriously wanna be just like you, Grandpa Rick." She muttered, smiling as they passed Saturn.

She missed his grimace. "Fuck that, kid. Be better than me."

Summer nodded, eyes fixed. Rick, when he knew she wasn't looking, smiled softly, staring at the teen as her eyes widened to comedic proportions.

"Y-you know what? No one can be better than me, so you may as well just stick to being like me."

"Okay."

"That a girl."

"So where exactly are we going?"

Without looking, Rick reached over and grabbed something, handing it to Summer. It was a small device, but looked very advanced.

"It's a neutrino bomb."

Summer assessed the object. And when her grandfather's words settled in she gasped. "A neutral subatomic particle with a mass close to zero and half-integral spin, rarely reacting with normal matter. Grandpa, this is dangerous."

Rick hid his smile. "Well duh, Summer. That's the point. I've decided that earth needs a fresh start and I'm planning on destroying the human race. You and I could start it over."

"What!? Grandpa Rick, my brother's down there."

Rick raised a brow. "So?"

* * *

They'd spent the whole day travelling to different planets and arguing about whether they should destroy or keep earth. Summer admitted that it had been funny, talking to her grandfather about the pros and cons of the world.

When they returned, the house had been asleep and Summer was tired. She assisted the drunk to his bedroom, requesting that he keep it down, and moved onto to her own room.

Although tired, Summer enjoyed the night. it hid her flaws, her imperfections, the scars burned onto her flesh, the stabs of knives left behind. The moon guided her through the night. His calming presence made her slowly close her eyes, her body quietly switching off; but he let her soul run free.

* * *

The next morning was dreadful. Summer had sat at the table, not ready for school as her mother handed her a plate.

Across the table, Rick sipped his coffee and groaned. "Yup. Early." He commented.

Summer's head lolled and the muscles of her face relaxed, releasing the tension of her day. Though her father's balloon pop game blared, her eyes were almost closed and from her chest came the first guttural snore.

"Summer!? See, Beth? He's already taking her on these stupid nightly adventures. Just wait until her grades drop."

"Listen, Jerry." Rick groaned. "I don't want to overstep my bounds or anything. It's your house. It's your world. You're a real Julius Caesar but I'll tell you some- tell you how- how I feel about school, Jerry. It's a waste of time. A bunch of people running around, bumping into each other. G-guy up front says, 'two plus two.' The people in the back say, 'four.'

Then the bell rings, and they give you a carton of milk and a piece of paper that says you can go take a dump or something. I mean, it's- it's not a place for smart people, Jerry, and I know that's not a popular opinion, but it's my two cents on the issue."

Morty shrugged. "I don't know, dad. It-it-it sounds reasonable."

Summer snorted and stood. "I really should get to school. Come on, Morty."

Rick stood as well, following them. "Summer. I'll need you later. There's this- this dimension 35-C and I've been meaning...I gotta get my hands on some Mega Seeds. You know and since you're so smart, we can go on as many - as many as we want. You know, Summer. Rick and Summer. Forever and ever. For one hundred years, Rick and Summer. For one hundred years."

And then Summer gave a smile that just seemed so genuinely sweet that unexpected warmth rushed through Rick.

So maybe her grandfather, who had the power to shut her parents up and take her away from the pain, didn't show up when she wanted him to. But the ginger couldn't deny that he'd showed up right on time.

 **And that's the second chapter. I know things don't really happen this way, but it's a fanfic. Also, I put a bit of sibling love in there. Despite what we see, Summer and Morty do love each other dearly. To me, Morty's just so cute and good-natured. Anyway, I do hope you'll all review. Please do.**


	3. Under Rickttack

**Under Rickttack**

 **Hi, everyone. Just wanted to thank Blue- 10-Spades and SamMason666 for reviewing. It means a lot that you guys are enjoying the story.**

Something was wrong. This was obvious as Rick stood hunched over the garage countertop, assessing how unreal everything was.

Five months ago, he'd come back into his daughter's life. He'd began taking Summer on a few adventures to get some kicks out of her. Teach her the ropes of science. See what she was really made of.

He'd found that like Morty, Summer had a good soul, when their family dog got too smart.

He'd found her to be brave when he strunk her, letting her roam the anatomy park within Ruben.

And in those five months, never once had he'd seen Summer comment on how beautiful the day was. She just wasn't like that. He knew. If he stayed up nights thinking about those red slashes beneath her bracelets, he fucking knew.

Never once did Beth robotically head to work. Of course the woman fucking hated the life she lived, but she didn't hate it _that_ much.

He just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Everything was perfect so far. It was like awakening in some 1950's TV show where everyone was super nice. But it wasn't just that, the weather was perfect and everyone had a smile and a 'good-day.' It was eerie. Spooky really.

He felt like he was in a dystopia. And what looked like a dystopia to him probably looked like a Utopia to whatever dumbass ran the simulation he stood in.

And with the worst props and poor editing, it was clear to see that some idiot ran it.

Standing and grabbing two pair of goggles, the man hopped into his cruiser. If he were in the simulation, chances are, they'd put Summer in the simulation too. She was intelligent and he'd told her a lot.

The trip to Harry Herpson High School was short. And Rick knew the class schedules of both his grandkids, so finding her homeroom was relatively easy.

"Summer, could you come up here and explain this theory, please?"

Rick stopped by the door and began to listen in.

"Ugh...sure." came her soft voice. There was some shuffling and Rick supposed that she'd went before the class.

"Ugh...Asymptotic theory is used in several mathematical sciences. In statistics, asymptotic theory provides limiting approximations of the probability distribution of sample statistics, such as the likelihood ratio statistic and the expected value of the deviance."

The class clapped, dull and robotically. "And what is operator theory?"

"Operator theory is the study of linear operators on function spaces, beginning with differential operators and integral operators."

The class clapped again and there were some pretty believable remarks going around. Such as "Summer, you're so cool."

He heard his granddaughter laugh sheepishly. "Thanks."

The same male voice spoke again. "You're cute. Do you like….know the recipe for concentrated dark matter?"

"Yeah..sure. My Grandpa Rick taught me."

"Could you tell us what it is?"

Rick tensed. He didn't know if Summer would sell him out for a robotic crush. But he wanted...needed to test her loyalty. He couldn't deny that he was anxious, but fuck that. Ricks didn't get anxious.

"Why's that important?" Her question was suspicious. "In fact, why are you even here, Toby? You don't have this class."

Rick stifled his cheer for another time. Like him, Summer trusted no one without a visible weakness.

"Ugh…."

"Summer Sanche- _Smith."_ Came the voice of her teacher. "Not stating the recipe implies that you don't know it. Tell us or you will lose class status."

"No."

The silence that followed didn't belong. It was awkward and defiant. As if 'no' was an answer they never practiced for.

"Ugh...yes."

"No." The stubborn teen grit out.

Rick chose the moment to barge in, grabbing Summer by the arm and dragging her out. Once a few minutes away, he stopped and began taking off his clothes.

"Grandpa, what's going on?"

"Strip first, Summer. They'll listen if we don't."

"What? Grandpa Rick, I'm a girl. I can't just waltz around with you naked."

Rick sighed and glared. "Summer. Be serious. I don't care about your stupid boobs. Just take your clothes off."

Summer sighed defiantly and Rick sighed exasperatedly. Grabbing the goggles from this morning, the man handed Summer a pair.

"What are these?"

"Figures you- _eurp_ \- ask." He bit out sarcastically as they glared at one another. "They're goggles that'll make you see that I have clothes on."

Summer nodded as both equipped the goggles and stripped.

"Okay. Now are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"We're in a simulation, Summer." Rick explained, knowing Summer had figured as much. "It's being run by a race of intergalactic scammers called Zigerions. We'll be safe if we remain naked. They're uncomfortable with these kinds of things."

Summer nodded. "So what do we do?"

"I have a plan to get us out of here."

Summer looked up, eyes narrowing at the cameras around them. "We have to cover our mouths, grandpa. They may have zoomed in on our faces to read our lips."

Her words were muffled since she'd already initiated her idea.

Rick nodded covering his mouth as he leaned closer.

* * *

"Quick, Summer. Make them do a bunch of stuff."

"Put your hands up! Do some back flips! Now everyone stand on your head!"

Rick dropped his mic as an audience member froze in the air. He ran off the stage. "Come on, Summer! Before the system restores itself. We _gott- eurp-_ get our hands on some of their Crystallized Core Processing Units."

* * *

"I knew it wasn't going to work." Summer hissed as they were thrown back into the simulation. They shouldn't have stopped for the crystals. And they were back on the ship.

Rick rolled his eyes. "Well. I would have got by if it weren't for you or your dumb boobs. I don't give a shit about you or this dumb ship."

He felt stupid, but he knew this wasn't his real Summer.

Summer's eyes filled with tears and she looked out the window. Summer never cried before people. Summer was stronger than that. And it was clear. This wasn't his Summer.

There was an odd laugh and both turned to Prince Nebulon. "You two done? Rick, when people told me about you being the smartest being in the universe, I didn't deny. But now…" he trailed off with a hearty laugh.

"We're smarter than you. We already have the recipe for concentrated dark matter."

Prince Nebulon turned to the silent Summer. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you about those red marks on your arm. Is that earth tradition?"

Rick's teeth grit. It was bad enough that he was in here. It was bad enough that they copied Summer's DNA. But now they were really fucking with him. Using his granddaughter's symptom of depression to make him break. At first, he wanted to leave with the crystals. But now he was angry.

"So how do you get them?" The prince asked. "I'd like some."

Rick stood with a growl. "Oh yeah, asshole?"

He pulled down his pants, making Nebulon cringe, gag, and look away.

"Come on, Summer! The simulation's gonna crash soon!"

The scientist grabbed his granddaughter's hand and ran. This time, he'd follow a real escape pod.

"Grandpa, is that dad?"

He halted, turning as Jerry ran to them. "What the- what the hell are you doing here, Jerry?" He dismissed the question and Jerry's tears as the ship shook. "It doesn't- doesn't matter. Come on!"

They'd finally got to an escape pod. Rick nearly smiled proudly as Summer went to the controls.

"Man up, Jerry. I need you to shoot the lasers."

"They're right on us." Summer nearly screamed, referring to the Zigerion ships close by. "We have to make the concentrated dark matter to escape them."

Rick smirked. "You're right, Summer. Okay. I need you to get a bucket from the back. Also get one bottled water, a tube of cesium, and some plutonic quartz."

Summer nodded and left. It took her less than a minute to return with all the ingredients.

Rick watched as she sat the bucket down. "Listen very carefully, Summer. Pour two parts cesium. One part plutonic quartz. And now pour the whole bottled water in."

Summer twitched when she picked up the water. He hid his smile and feigned shock when she and the ship disappeared, making he and Jerry fall on their asses.

Prince Nebulon, who was nearby, suddenly doubled himself up and burst into a loud harsh cackle of laughter.

"Oh, Rick. How dumb are you? You're inside a simulation _inside_ a simulation. We never had the recipe for concentrated dark matter. It was all part of the plan."

He crossed his arms. "I have to give it to you though. We needed to make another simulation when our own created Summer defied us. She was stubborn and we knew she knew the recipe. And never, in all my thousand years of ruling, have a seen that."

"Seen what?" Rick spat.

"I've never seen a simulation character become dangerously aware of her existence. Anyway, let these fools go. I'm done."

* * *

Rick rolled his eyes as Jerry drew apples on the space pod's window. "Geez, Jerry. Get a grip."

"Don't act like they didn't play with your mind too, Rick. Don't act as if you weren't outsmarted."

Just as he said this, A series of flashes broke out, lifting and spreading the incandescent radioactive gasses, and then a great gush of flame rose. A rising ball of blackened orange-red flame baking the startled air. The windows of the pod shook so violently, Rick almost put down his flask.

Smiling, the scientist pulled out a radio and turned it on. "Hey, Summer, did you get those Crystallized Core Processing Units I sent over?"

There was a yawn on the other end. "Yeah, Grandpa Rick. Can I please go to sleep now?"

"Did you remember the code? D-did you put them in the safe?"

"Mhm."

"Alright. Guess you can sleep now."

The line went dead and Jerry, who'd been listening the whole time, sat up. "Summer knew about this?"

Rick wanted to spit at him. He wanted to tell Jerry that if he wasn't so busy arguing with Beth every second of the day, they'd probably realize just how intelligent Summer was.

"Yep. She's been listening the whole day. She transmitted the cesium."

And he left it at that and looked back toward the dying light of the explosion. _That's what you get for using my granddaughter against me,_ he thought.

* * *

It was no surprise that when they returned home at night, Beth and Jerry began arguing.

Beth wanted to know where he'd been all day. And instead of answering correctly, Jerry gave a stupid arrogant answer, like always.

Rick opened Morty's door slightly, relief flooding through him as he stared at the hanging arm off the bed and the drool from the boy's mouth. Morty was a heavy sleeper, but even when he was awake, his parent's arguments never bothered him.

Then he moved down the hall...to Summer's room. Opening the door slowly, he found Summer laying down, her hands tucked beneath her head. But he knew she was awake. So he walked in further, waiting waiting waiting until she noticed.

She noticed.

She stared for some time, blinked away her tears, hid her scratched wrists, and blinked again.

"Are mom and dad really going to get a divorce?" She whispered. Although quiet, it was still louder than the arguing in Rick's eyes.

There was a soft creaking as Summer scooted back and Rick sat on the bed before her stomach.

He wanted to rub her head slowly, but it probably would have made her cry. So he tussled it, and while her eyes glimmered in the dark with tears, she still laughed.

"For the first time in all my life, I'm saying I don't know. Because I don't, kid. Your parents love one another, which is stupid, but they aren't happy together. Besides, it really won't matter if they get one or not, will it?"

"If they're happy, I guess not." She murmured.

"Nah. It won't matter because it's Rick and Summer for one hundred years, right?"

"Right." She confirmed and Rick tussled her hair again.

 **Well, that's the third chapter. I know some things didn't go like this, but this is obviously about Rick and Summer. Tell me what you liked friends. Review. I'll update soon.**


	4. If Ricks Did Love

**If Ricks Did Love**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It means a lot that everyone's enjoying the story so far. This chapter is a bit angsty. But you'll love the interactions. Well, here we go.**

 _She felt his fingers dig into her cheek, the four blackened ovals that would remain and discolor her skin long after the blood had dried from her veins. The scream was stifled. She could hear him panting, the pleasure in his breath, like an animal in heat. He was not stealing but rather claiming what was to be rightfully his. He did not speak, no need to tell her not to fight, to make a sound. His fingers did all the work. Cling, hook, crush, threaten to unhinge her very jaw if another sound were to leave her lips. That was how she was to remain. Silent. Taken. Silent. Raped. Silent. Die. Silent._

 _His coarse tongue licked at her skin, stubby fingers curled in her hair._

 _Call it luck. Call it a spur of the moment, but licking was all he could do. Summer had gotten out of Mr. Jellybean's grip, bashed him up and ran._

 _When she'd gotten back to Rick, she was shaky and afraid. She wanted to say something….to anyone._

 _She wanted to tell Rick what happened, but she was ashamed._

 _She wanted to tell the owners of this establishment that not making gender separate bathrooms was stupid._

" _Summer. Y-you know, I'm actually having some fun here. Sorry for being a dick earlier."_

 _A door opened behind them and Summer tucked her head under Rick's arm, her quiet sobs muffled and her tears wetting his shirt._

" _I don't care about losing the bet, Grandpa Rick. I just wanna go home. Take me home...please."_

 _Her pleas were ignored as Rick's eyes narrowed at the jellybean that limped from the bathroom._

 _When Summer cried there was a rawness to it, like the pain was still an open wound. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her back. "Hey calm down. We'll go now, if that's what you want. But it's no failure, okay?"_

" _Yes." She had whispered._

 _She didn't expect to see him again. She didn't suspect him to be a king. When King Jellybean, busted and bruised, was being carried on his throne, Summer grabbed hold of Rick, telling him that she just wanted to leave._

 _But Rick raised a gun, shooting King Jellybean right in his head._

* * *

They did not speak as they returned home. Summer just wanted to curl up in a ball and die. She wanted out once again.

When they ended up in the garage, she still did not open her mouth. Morty came in with a big smile, wanting to tell her all about his date with Jessica that Mr. Meeseeks had created, but she stormed pass, going into the bathroom.

The boys face formed a sad frown. "What happened?"

Rick shook his head. "Nothing. Just get to bed, Morty."

He waited a while to barge into the bathroom. Summer would first contemplate the day's events. She would self deprecate and then she would pick up the razor.

That was Rick's time to intervene. He unlocked the door on his own and his granddaughter stared startled, razor barely an inch away from her wrist.

He sighed, running a palm over his temple. "Don't do it, Summer. Just don't fucking do it."

She dropped the razor and groaned, more out of frustration and self-pity than anything. "I'm sorry." She cried. She was sorry for being weak. Sorry she let it happen. Sorry she was crying, because if anything. Summer didn't fucking cry before people. "I...I...I…."

Rick moved forward, hugging the girl close. She sobbed into his chest unceasingly, hands clutching at his white jacket. He held her in silence, rocking her slowly as her tears soaked his chest. A tiny lapse let her pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before she collapsed again, her howls of misery worsening. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling her back into the outstretched arms of his grief.

Summer had fallen asleep against him, wet tears upon her face. It was Rick who put her to bed, but Morty crawled up beside her, placing his forehead on hers. He would protect his sister.

* * *

When she arose the next morning, it wasn't pleasant. Waking up hadn't been a pleasure for a long time. There was a fleeting moment when Summer was whole again, but it evaporated faster than fall rain off the burnt earth.

Her eyelids were drooping, then the adventure from yesterday came into mind.

Her lids that were drooping and leaden with sleep snapped open as violently as if she'd been woken by sirens wailing.

She wanted to run out of her skin. She felt disgusting and dirty and deserving of everything that happened to her in this life.

Looking around the room, her eyes stopped on a curly head of brown hair. Morty lay in his pajamas, snuggled against her side, but drooling on her cover.

As she shifted, he snuggled closer, a snore escaping his mouth. "I love you, Summer." his barely audible comment made her shudder and she blinked her tears away.

Of course yesterday was traumatizing. Of course it would take some weeks to get over it, but Summer didn't deny the fact that she gave king Jellybean a run for his money. She kicked his ass. And she was stronger than that. If she could live through depression, she could live through this.

She would be strong and happy for Morty because despite everything, he needed her too. If Summer fell victim to her own problems, Morty would become dangerously aware of his parent's lack of love and attention.

She yawned, supposing that she and Morty could just take the day off and rest. "Love you too."

Darkness clouded her vision and she slept.

* * *

Rick somehow knew Summer wouldn't be up for an adventure. So he stayed in the garage all day, working working working on something that would make him feel better about himself.

"You know….destroying Mr. Jellybeans village isn't going to help."

The older man turned, finding Morty in the doorway, with a sympathetic look upon his face. And suddenly, he regretted telling the boy about the events he was sure nearly happened.

Rick looked back to his work. "You know, since you're a lot like your father, I don't expect you to understand anything. Why aren't you in school, Morty?"

"Summer asked me to stay home for the day."

There was a stillness that followed after. Rick stayed still. Morty stayed still. It was the kind of stillness that even a feather would fall without drifting one way or the other. The air was straight and silent, the dust dangled more as if it had been painted there. Should Morty be able to feel the beating of his lashes - that would have been the only breeze. It was still, utterly still.

And the stillness, Rick's stillness, frightened Morty. Perhaps it is the sunlight peeking in making his grandfather's skin so pale, or the lack of wind letting every hair hang without movement, Morty wasn't sure. Rick didn't even blink, just kept his eyes on the device as if it whispered secrets to him.

Eventually, Morty's eyes widened in realization and he smiled sadly at the ground.

"Uh...yeah. She's fine...if that's what you were wondering."

The moment unstiffened Rick and he continued working.

"Y-you know my sister's always going to be okay, Rick. She always is. She's just sad sometimes."

 _I know. And she has the bruises to prove it_ , Rick wanted to say, but he stayed silent.

"But she stays strong. She doesn't like crying because she thinks it's weak."

 _She's tough. I know that._

"She has a weird philosophy of life. Kind of like that chick from that movie. She could die at any moment, but the tragedy, she says, is that she doesn't."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I…. I don't want her to get hurt. And I don't want anyone to damage her anymore than she already is. So, Rick don't hurt her."

Rick stood then. He and Morty stared at one another for some time.

"What do you think I came back for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. So what else did you come in here for?"

Morty fumbled with his hands a little. "I was wondering if you could...you know you go on so many adventures with Summer and…"

Rick rolled his eyes. "Spit it out, Morty."

"Could you make something for Jessica to like me?"

"Like what?"

"There's our annual flu season dance tonight. I don't need to go to school, but I can still go. Could you please make a potion so she'll fall in love with me?"

Rick held in his snort because Summer was right. Morty, in some dumb fucking way, was disgustingly adorable.

So disgustingly adorable that maybe the world didn't deserve him.

But he held it in because fuck that, Ricks didn't do 'adorable.' It was almost forbidden as it was stupid.

"Listen, Morty." He touched the fourteen year old's shoulder. "I hate break it to you, but, what people call 'love' is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it. Your parents are gonna do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above. Focus on science. Like your sister."

Jerry had stopped by the door some point between failed marriage and science. "A what now? What's all this about science?"

Morty bit his lip, seemingly embarrassed. "I'm trying to get Jessica to love me instead of this cool guy named Brad."

Jerry stepped further into the garage and Rick wanted to pull his hair out. Couldn't they see that he was busy? He was trying to save Summer.

"Well, try not to worry about it, Morty. You're a good kid and there's not a premium on that right now, but you'll be getting girls sometime after Brad's out of shape."

Morty groaned, somehow wishing that Summer was alright so she could give advice. "You're missing the point, dad. I don't want girls. I want Jessica."

"Ah, well, I remember feeling that way about a young lady named 'Your Mom' and that's not an urban diss. Your mom was my Jessica. I remember the first time I saw her. I thought-"

"I should get her pregnant and then she'll have to marry me." Rick interrupted. _And then make the baby feel like everything is it's fault,_ he added silently, bitterly.

Jerry's mouth gaped. "I beg your pardon, Rick. Inappropriate."

"Sorry, please proceed with your story about banging my daughter in high school."

Jerry grew a vibrant red, muttered something along the lines of 'follow your heart' and ushered himself out.

Morty turned back to Rick, staring hopeful. Rick sighed, rubbing his temple. "Ugh, fine. I'll have something ready by the time you go to the dance tonight."

"However," he began as Morty's eyes smiled for him. "I need you to do something for me. Get a strand of Summer's hair for me."

* * *

Once he'd actually gotten an orange strand, he pushed Morty out, opting to glare at his newly created device: the memory portal gun.

He didn't know if he should actually use it. If he did, he'd be angry. If he didn't, it would plague him forever.

 _Destroying Mr. Jellybeans village isn't going to help._

Morty's words hung in the air like wind and Rick sneered. Of course it wouldn't help. But if he saw, he'd know how to help her.

Placing the strand of hair within a small latch on the gun, and shooting before him, he waited patiently for something to pop up on the screen. Eventually, a robotic voice spoke and Summer's photo appeared.

"Summer Smith; earth dimension C-137; age 17; status alive. Finding Summer's memories for…."

"Yesterday evening." Rick spoke clearly.

"Okay. Finding Summer's memories for yesterday evening."

A few images scanned through. Like Summer waking up and giving Morty some extra cash for school. Then her and Rick's silly argument about their adventures. Dale, the giant. And eventually the restaurant/bar they ended up in.

Summer had been washing her hands in the bar's gender neutral bathroom. When a seemingly nice Jellybean began asking about her crazy day.

Summer gave him the smallest ounce of trust and that had placed her in a fight for her life. Rick grimaced when he watched King Jellybean slightly grind against her and lick her face. Eventually, Summer had gained the upper hand and punched him a few times. Then slammed his head between the toilet seat.

Rick took out the strand from the gun and hissed, placing it within his pocket.

So maybe he wouldn't destroy King Jellybean's village. Because maybe they knew nothing of his shitty actions.

But fuck that, Rick would find something else. If he had to defy all logic and bring the bastard back to life, he would damnit. He'd do it and he'd give him a more deserving death.

Because _nobody_ fucked with his grandkids. Not even their parents. Not while he was alive.

Rick left the garage, deciding he would go check on Summer.

When he got there, Summer wasn't laying down, surprisingly. She sat up on her bed, shaking her head at every outfit Morty showed her. Jerry stood there too, watching as she worked.

"You want to look presentable, Morty. Wearing a t-shirt and jeans isn't going to work for Jessica. This suit is perfect."

Jerry spoke up then. "What'll he be looking for when he wears that. The suit will definitely get him a kiss."

Summer rolled her eyes and turned to her father. "Dad. You don't love people in hopes of a reward. You love them unconditionally."

Rick smirked. "Ugh. Jerry. When did- when did this happen you know? Your kid- _eurp-_ telling you off, huh? Well Summer, I'd know. She's a lot smarter than you."

Her eyes found Rick's and she smiled. "Good morning, grandpa Rick."

He raised his brows in surprise. "Morning. I think you mean evening, Summer. It's five pm."

He messed up her ponytail just a tad, making her laugh. "I must have been super sleepy. I slept the whole day."

Rick flopped on her bed with a huge sigh, laying down as he did. "What's all this about?"

"I'm trying to make Morty look presentable for later. The dance is in two hours."

Rick stood. "Two hours. Well I better get to work then."

* * *

"Alright, Morty. I just gotta- _eurp_ \- combine it with some of your DNA."

For a while, Morty stared confused before he unzipped his pants. "Oh, well, okay."

Rick rolled his eyes, something he seemed to be doing a lot with the boy. "I need a hair, Morty. I need one of your hairs. This isn't Game of Thrones."

Morty blushed deeply and then winced as he pulled a strand of curly hair from his head. He waited for some time until Rick was finished with the bottle.

"What is it?"

"It's a serum that has the genetic makeup of voles, a rodent that pair bonds with its mate for life. Use this and you'll get laid tonight."

Morty smiled big and wide. "Aw gee, thanks, Rick. But...is there anything that could go wrong with this serum?"

Rick had already began working again. "No...not really…..unless she has the flu." But Morty was already gone before he finished. And somehow, Rick supposed the boy scattered when he hear the first vibrations of the letter 'N.'

He shook his head and went back to work. So maybe he couldn't bring King Jellybean to life just to kill him. But that didn't stop Rick from going to every timeline, making sure the man's existence would be rare.

He'd kill King Jellybean before he even became a king. He'd kill him over and over. And if there was no king Jellybean, Rick would kill his parents. Just to make sure the creep would never exist.

He felt stupid and un-Rick-like. Because never had he felt this way about anyone. Never would he go this far for anyone. Not for Birdperdon, not for Scaunchy, not for anyone. It just wouldn't feel right.

Fuck...fuck...fuck. Ricks didn't do love, but if they did….

They would love Summer like she was the last of their kind. It would be as if she spoke the same language as them, yet no one else couldn't. To be around Summer would be like finally not being alone - as if all their lives, they'd been isolated, in a windowless and doorless room... and then suddenly Summer walked in as if strolling over a meadow. How was it that she was so much more than sunshine?

If Ricks did, they'd love Summer more than anything. Because the Rickest of them already did.

And he loved her so much, that he stayed where he was. In that garage, conspiring to ruin every King Jellybean in the multiverse.

The need for revenge was like a rat gnawing at his soul, relentless, unceasing, it could only be stopped by the cold steel of a rat trap, a trap he would devise himself. His need for revenge was like an abscess on the skin of the soul that could only be cured by the cruel sharp steel point of revenge. Festering like a septic wound, and the only effective antibiotic is cold hard revenge. Savage. Spiteful. A dish best served cold. Unforgiving. Rick would bare a grudge until he died or took revenge, whichever came first. Settling old scores. Brutal. Callous. Satisfying. Empty. Pointless. Excessive. Mean spirited. It appealed to his twisted and dark sense of humour.

The only thing that broke him from his thoughts was Summer's voice. Standing straight, the man moved to the living room, finding Jerry sitting worried and Summer curled up on the couch with a blanket, watching the nearly silent television.

Jerry groaned, the sound coming out as a bit whiney. "She's not responding to my texts."

"Careful, dad. Jealousy turns women off."

His dumb son in law looked up to Summer as if she were making it worse. "Well, isn't that convenient?"

Rick stepped in. "Not for the men they cheat on, no."

Summer shook her head, not really listening to the conversation. "God, grandpa, you're such a dick."

"Sorry, Summer, your opinion means very little to me."

Jerry groaned once more and stood. "I'm going to her job and I'm going to see why she's being called in so late."

With that, he marched out with a determined look. Rick stared after, but sighed, sitting next to Summer. "Your dumb dad's going to make a fool of himself."

"Hmm. Maybe."

She said tiredly. Rick sighed. "Summer…. I'm sorry."

She looked up then. "Huh?"

"It's not something I'd say often, so I'm not saying it again. I just want you to know that I'll be here when anyone hurts you. I'll be sure to take them out."

Summer regarded him for some time. Then she shrugged and snuggled back in the couch.

"Thank you." She whispered, probably trying to eliminate her memories. She laid her head on his shoulder, probably sleepy. "I'm sorry for trying to choose an adventure myself."

"Not your fault, Summer."

"When I want in that bathroom, grandpa Rick, I should have been cau-"

"Shut up." He interrupted. He meant it, but not rudely. And somehow, Summer got the point that he already knew.

"I'm not perfect. I know people say I'm smart and mom says I'm pretty, but sometimes I don't feel like it. I'm not perfect. But that's okay because you aren't either. Right, grandpa?"

Rick, despite his mood, laughed. "Hell no. I don't think that's real. I'm not perfect, but I'd follow you into hell if that's what it took to keep you safe."

She hummed and snuggled closer. As her consciousness ebbed, her mind went into free fall, swirling with the beautiful chaos of a new dream.

If Ricks did love, they would love this too. The way Summer fell asleep. Slowly, and then all at once.

 _Her philosophy of life is that she might die at any moment. The tragedy, she says, is that she didn't._

Rick sighed heavily and stared at the fading cuts on her arm. Then his eyes met the bruises on her face and chest, probably from her fight with King Jellybean. Cautiously, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled the teen closer. His beer ridden lips touched her forehead and remained until Rick spoke. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I am, Summer."

Sorry for being such a dick and sorry for coming back too late. Some slashes on her arm must have been his doing too.

"I'm so sorry."

Someone banged on the patio glass not an hour later. His eyes were big and black and he seemed in love. It made Rick cringe. This was probably one of those creeps that had a crush on Summer at school. But the next words that left the teen's mouth made him shudder.

"Where's Morty?"

Rick hissed and stood fast. "Shit." And through all the banging and the curses, Summer did not move. She must have been very tired.

He watched her one last time before he scattered out the door. She would be alright. Summer knew how to hold her own. It was Morty that would worry him.

* * *

Rick sighed heavily as he watched the people hit against his cruiser, chants of Morty filling the spaces.

He wondered if Summer had woken up and realized that he'd left her. He wondered how many people were outside the house, trying to get in. He wondered if Summer hated him.

"Ugh...Morty…." he didn't finish. Wouldn't. But he felt so stupid. For being the smartest being in the universe, that was saying something.

"How are we going to fix it, Rick?"

"I don't know what I was thinking. Mantises are the opposite of voles? Obviously DNA is a bit more complicated than that. You know what, Morty? This right here is gunna do the trick, baby. It's koala, mixed with rattlesnake, chimpanzee, cactus, shark, golden retriever, and just a smidge of dinosaur. Should add up to normal humanity."

"I don't-That doesn't make any sense, Rick. How does that add up to a normal humanity?"

"What-What do you want me to show you my math? I'm sorry are you the scientist or are you the kid who wanted to get laid?"

Morty grew silent, watching as Rick worked diligently on his new invention. "Is...is Summer okay? Are my parents fine?"

Rick grit his teeth. "I don't know." He seemed to be saying that a lot around the Smith family.

Just as expected, Morty put his hands on his face. "Aww Geez. What are we going to do? I love my parents because they provide for me, but I- what if Summer- I can't think like this, Rick. I can't- Summer's all I have, Rick."

"Morty! Calm the fuck down. Let me think."

"Why'd you leave, Summer? I thought you loved her."

Again, there was that stillness. The air consumed all and the movement remained still. How was it that Morty could read him so well? That was Summer's job.

"Sorry, kid. Ricks don't do love. It's stupid. It gets in the way." He poured a few droplets of water into his new serum, smiling triumphantly. "There. This shit's done, so let's get this shit rolling. We gott- _eurp-_ sprinkle this over the city, M-Morty."

They moved around the city, watching as everyone lost their mantis antennas.

"Well, what do we have here, Morty? Looks like I was right and you were wrong. Huh? I-I-I-I-bet you feel pretty stupid right about now. I bet you feel like the world's smallest man that you were doubting me…..about this whole thing, Morty."

"Oh, Rick. Something's not right." The boy muttered, staring horrified out the window.

"Yeah, you. You're not right ... ever."

"No! No! Look you idiot!"

Rick looked out the window, seeing that the citizens were now transforming into weird alien monsters "Bet your loving this, Morty. This must be the best day of your life. You get the be Mayor of I Told You Town."

"What are we gonna do? It's going to spread, Rick. It's going to go all over the world."

"I need out of this cruiser. I need space to think. I'll fly us to a tall roof and you can hyperventilate there."

* * *

Although there were odd monsters trying to get on the roof, that wasn't what worried him.

They'd sat on that roof for hours wondering if Summer, Beth, and Jerry were still alive. It was almost okay to say Beth and Jerry were gone, but neither man nor teen thought Summer would go out like this.

Morty groaned. "What are we going to do, Rick?"

He sighed heavily, but stood anyway. Summer wouldn't be turning up anytime soon. So it'd be best if they just found another dimension. Found a new Summer.

The man hopped into his cruiser, watching Morty do the same. "I guess we just-"

Suddenly, he was cut off by a series of gunshots, which were all fired in rapid succession.

"What the Rick?" He asked.

Jumping out of his cruiser, Rick looked down, watching as Summer walked through the cronenbergs, shooting any that came close.

She shot again as one tried tackling her. "Even if I knew where my brother was, I wouldn't let you fucks have him."

The two pistols Summer had in her hands had come from Rick's safe. And as much as he wanted to tell her off, he wouldn't deny the relief and happiness that flooded through him. Summer, like always, could hold her own. Despite what happened with King Jellybean, she was up defending herself and her family.

Rick jumped back in his cruiser, ignoring Morty's cries of curiosity.

Swooping off the roof, he smiled. "Computer, grab Summer."

The cruiser grabbed hold of Summer and pushed her in the window. Morty jumped on her. "Summer! Aww geez, are you- what's going on?"

She shook her head. "I should be asking you both."

Morty explained the situation, admitting both he and Rick's role in ending the world.

When finished, Summer just shook her head. "We're a long way from fixing anything. What are you going to do, grandpa?"

"I should kick your ass for touching my pistols." She frowned. "Nice job back there." she smiled.

"It kind of sucks. Those things were just people. So that's what I'm killing."

"Don't think about it." Rick pulled out his portal gun. "Hold on you two."

Rick opened a portal and stepped inside, watching he and Morty before going into the living room. Summer sat on the couch and he called swiftly. "Summer could you come to the garage for a second?"

He went back through the portal when she stood. All they had to do was wait.

* * *

"Wow, Rick, I gotta say, you really pulled a rabbit out of your hat this time. I mean, I really thought that the whole place was gonna be messed up for good, but here you did it. You figured out that crazy solution, like you always do. Whoo! That's some great luck."

"Come on, Morty, luck had nothing to do with it. I'm great. That's the real reason. Now, Morty, what do you say, buddy? Will you have me a screwdriver so I can finish my ionic defibulizer?"

"Sure thing, Rick. Here's the screwdriver."

"Alright, Morty, thank you very much. We got one screw turn, and two screw turns and-"

Summer walked in, standing next to Morty. "You wanted me, grandpa-"

The machine blew, killing all three occupants of the garage.

Rick's portal opened again. When Summer gave witness to the bodies, she turned, hiding Morty's face in her stomach just as he came in.

"What's going on?" His question was muffled and Summer glared hard at Rick. He sighed, but handed her a blindfold.

"You have to keep this on Morty. And sit right here for a few minutes and I'll explain. Don't take those off."

"Why?"

"The world is too bright right now."

While Rick placed the bodies in a trunk and took the shovel out back, Summer sat busy, scrubbing up blood with an intergalactic sponge.

The job was relatively quick, and before further questions were asked, Summer had removed Morty's blindfold. There were things that she could take, but she'd be damned if Morty had to see the things she saw.

"What's going on?" Morty questioned. "Is everything back to normal?"

"It's fine, Morty. Everything's fine. There's an infinite number of realities, Morty, and in a few dozen of those, I got lucky and turned everything back to normal. I just happened to come across one of those realities in which both of us happened to die at this time and Summer existed. Now, we can just slip into the places of our dead selves in this reality and everything will be fine. We're not skipping a beat, guys."

Morty processed the information and Rick wanted to thank Summer. If he'd seen the bodies and the blood, he could have taken it a lot worse.

"What about the other reality?"

"What about the reality where Hitler cured cancer, Morty? The answer is don't think about it. It's not like we can do this every week, anyways. We get one or two more of these, tops. Because your sister doesn't exist in most of 'em."

Morty's expression melded and he bit his fingertips, a sign of fear. "Why does Summer only exist in a few realities?"

Rick grew frustrated. "Because, Morty. Most Summers were killed in your mom's stomach."

The claim made Morty gasp, and seemingly hyperventilate.

"Don't scare him." Summer nearly yelled.

"Why would you not existing scare him? _You_ should be scared. Because it scares me damnit!"

The silence that followed was soft, but uncomfortable. From then on, no one could call Rick out for the dumb shit he said. And if he'd said rude shit to Summer, he'd be called out himself. He couldn't say that he didn't give a fuck about her. He couldn't say he didn't love her.

Because if Summer not existing bothered him, anything pertaining to her getting hurt bothered him. And he couldn't say he didn't care about her, because Summer and Morty already knew.

Rick didn't do love, but he sure as hell loved his granddaughter. It was the only exception.


	5. A Rickle in Time

**A Rickle in Time**

 **Oh my God! Did you guys see the new Rick and Morty episode? We got a bit more Summer there. When Rick called Summer 'Sum Sum,' I couldn't help but laugh. And yes...I'm using it. Ah...well. a long way from there, aren't I? Hehe.**

Rick leapt through the portal not a moment after Summer as they both crashed on the garage floor.

Their breathing erratic and their thoughts heavy, it was surprisingly Rick who let out the first laugh. He banged his fist on the ground and covered his mouth.

"I was this close…" he spoke in between laughs and shook the frozen Summer's shoulder. "I thought we'd never get away."

Eventually, the teen began laughing too, rolling all around the floor. "We have to go back. That's the funny thing. But I thought we were done too. I thought it was bad, grandpa Rick."

He calmed down, standing and then helping Summer off the ground. "Yeah. But this time, we'll be more cautious, kid." He looked toward the clock. "Right after breakfast."

As they made their way to the dining room, stifling their laughter, Rick boasted to Summer about his earlier claims.

"What'd I tel- _eurp-_ ya? I told you that early morning adventures are the best. Now you can't get angry that I woke- that I woke you up at four a.m."

Summer shook her head, a large smile on her face. "Nuh-uh. But I was the one who chose the time-dimension. You can't say it wasn't awesome."

Rick nodded seemingly proud that Summer had his bravery. "That's the only thing I'm giving you props for though."

Summer sat at the end of the table, Rick on the other. "Ugh. I just saved our asses from the seconds and minutes that came after us. If not, Father Time would have erased us."

Jerry looked up. "Summer. Watch your mouth, young lady. And please don't tell me you've been out all night. It's ridiculous."

Jerry, for the past weeks, had been giving Rick crap about taking his daughter out on adventures. Whether they be dangerous or time consuming, Rick heard it from Jerry. Hell, Summer could slip on a banana peel and Jerry would be on his ass.

But never once had Jerry gotten at his daughter. Never once did he use a tone, so full of malice and disappointment, with Summer.

While Beth spread her love all over, Summer was Jerry's golden child. Summer could do no wrong in his eyes. But now….

There was a tense silence that righted itself onto the table. Summer looked up slowly toward her father. Her face was guilty, but sad as her head moved from left to right and right to left.

"No, dad. It was just an early mission. What's the big deal?"

Jerry laughed bitterly. "The big deal." He muttered. His hands found his pocket and a sheet of paper was placed before Summer.

A full grade evaluation for a single class.

Advanced Placement Physics. First Quarter Grade of an A minus; 92%.

Summer bit her lip and Rick scoffed when he realized the embarrassment. "Dad-"

"Don't, Summer." He interrupted. "When were you going to tell us? What happened?"

Summer kept her head down. "It was just one essay. Tammy wanted to hang out and-"

"One essay. One essay that can bring you 4.5 GPA down to a 3.9. You can't expect schools like Harvard to consider you." The man spoke incredulously.

Again, the silence controlled them. Jerry shook his head in disbelief. "These people at your school don't matter, Summer. How do you know if this Tammy girl isn't trying to sabotage your class rank? Teenage girls can be very cruel. They can hate you for being too pretty, too smart, too popular with the boys, looking different, being fat, and just because they want to pick on someone. We all love you and school doesn't last forever. In a few years they'll be out of your life and we won't. Then you can make mature friends, ones who aren't raging bags of hormones. You need to focus on your schoolwork."

Beth groaned. "Jerry, get to the point."

"Summer Anne Smith...until this grade gets above a one hundred percent, you won't be hanging out with anyone anytime soon."

Summer nearly breathed a sigh of relief, but Jerry shook his head.

"And since you like protecting your grandfather and lying about spending time with friends, you can kiss those adventures goodbye for two months."

It was only this that made Summer's mouth open in shock. And her eyes filled with stupid tears. "Dad...you can't do this to me. Those adventures are all I have... I have to go on-"

"Rick can work without you for two months. He's done it for twenty years."

Usually then, Beth would hiss her husband's name; make him stop hassling so much.

However, a loud bang on the table made every occupant look toward Rick's pale hands. He sat glaring at Jerry for some time. "You have no right, you dipshit."

Jerry glared. "I have every right, Rick. She is my daughter. Not _yours."_

There was a small sniffle and everyone stared as Summer covered her face with a hand.

"I…." She began in a low murmur.

"I was born into a middle classed home and the teaching began right after birth. I had the most stimulating toys mom's money could buy and a moderately priced nanny to keep me amused when you both were gone. I loved the nanny for a year.

I remember her still, but when the job ended she left and I never saw her again. School began, a little pressed uniform and a kindly teacher. We learned through songs and recited our alphabet. There were after-school clubs, then home to eat dinner while Mom and Dad argued about a failed abortion.

Each day blended into the next and the only thing you both ever asked me was about my grades, not my feelings, not who I was. Then when the pressure intensified and I found I couldn't get the grades you demanded, I'd be seen as a slacker."

Summer sobbed a bit more and Morty stood. "Summer…."

"I have spent the beginning of the year trying to kill myself."

There were gasps around, drifting and going as they went. But Summer didn't stop.

"I've cut. I've stolen pills used for Mom's patients. I've been asking for a car for a year only so I could drive it into a river. But you don't understand. When grandpa Rick came, lots of things changed. I want to live now, but…."

Summer stood, wanting to run away. So she didn't have to explain anything. So she didn't have to cry. But, she halted as she turned.

However, three guns pointing toward her ceased all movement.

A tall man, neither Human- neither real, stood behind his men. When he was sure Summer was frozen, the man moved forward.

"Summer Smith. You are under arrest at this moment for the unmeasurable crime of stopping time."

The man that said this was the same man who'd chased her and Rick out of his sacred dimension. There was only a matter of him before he caught them.

"Father Time." Summer muttered.

Beth stood slowly. "Dad, what's going on?"

Summer shook her head. "It's nothing, mom. Grandpa and I went to the time dimension this morning. It wasn't a mission, but we went to have a little fun. I'll be honest, I switched the large clock back a few hours."

"Which is a large crime to everyone in this dimension. I am the head of every death and life. And because of you, you have wasted me and set me back." Father Time spoke in a calm matter.

Beth shook her head in concern. "What? She's just a kid. She does these adventures all the time. Dad, do something."

Rick only shook his head. "This is beyond me, sweetie. Time catches up to us."

Beth strided forward. "Sir, we could talk this out. If I could just have a moment of your time."

The man scoffed. And somehow, when he stood straighter, he stood taller. He looked down on Beth with dignity and poise. "Young lady….I am time."

Summer wiped her tears away and stood straighter. She let out a sigh. The sigh was resigned and weary. It signalled the end of deliberate effort and the beginning of passive deterioration. She had accepted her fate and Rick grimaced. She should have fought. She was stronger than anyone in that room, even him.

It fluttered on the winds like a butterfly decorated with a perfidy amount of colours, flapping around the table so everyone heard.

"Mom. It's not a big deal. I'll do my time. Father Time, what's my sentence?"

The man nodded. "Summer Smith, you have set me back. It's time you feel the same."

He touched her forehead.

And Summer disappeared. The only thing left were her clothes, crumpled upon the floor.

Rick stood, pulling his gun out. "What the fuck did you just do?"

Time smirked. "Rick Sanchez. Because of your crimes, you are obligated to care for Summer Smith until her sentence is up in three days. I will be watching you. And before I go, a word of advice to you all."

Father Time opened a portal and put his hands together.

"Time is the truth inside the lie, and the truth of this time is simple enough: the magic exists."

With that, he was gone. Beth covered her face as Rick stood, walking over to the pile of clothes they left behind.

"Aww, geez. Rick where's my sister? Did they like kill her?"

Rick sighed in mild annoyance. "It's fine." He peeled back the plastic and pulled out a newborn, umbilical cord thick and dangling. The baby opened her mouth to cry and and all she could manage was a quiet snuffling, her throat dry and sore.

"Aww shit" he whispered. The baby was Summer. And she was so cute. Fuck that….Ricks could only do Summer-cute.

Her eyes roamed everything in the air and when the little black pupils found Rick's, her arms went aloft.

He wrapped her now large shirt around her tiny body and picked her up.

"Oh my God." Jerry muttered.

"Dad, it's Summer." Morty explained.

She was smaller than a bag of sugar from the grocers. Tiny toes peeked from her shirt, dangling in the air. Her head, a crazy mass of ginger strands not yet rubbed bald, wobbled beneath his supporting hand. He couldn't believe how tiny new humans were, how vulnerable, how awe inspiring.

They all moved forward, watching the child move around with a flutter. Her eyes stayed on Rick and she tried grabbing hold of his hair.

He wanted to smile and laugh and lift her in the air and say ' _just like old times'_ but he was Rick. And even thinking about it sounded fucking dumb.

"Dad, what? Is it really Summer?"

They regarded the child for some time. She was still grabbing for Rick's hair, but when he separated her, the child sighed in mild annoyance. She seemed stubborn however, and continued to reach.

Rick's eyes widened. "Holy shit, motherfucka! It is!" He was smiling. But no one else cheered. "What's wrong? We got no whining for a whole day!" Although he was happy, the reason was a secret.

Jerry moaned in slight pain and rubbed his temple. "Sorry, Rick. Finding out that my oldest child has been trying to kill herself for a year doesn't make me happy. And on top of that, this happens!"

Beth sighed too. "While it does bother me, we can't ignore that she loves her adventures with Dad. But her being an infant again frightens me."

Rick rolled his eyes. "That's great sweetie. Lucki- _eurp-_ you know how to take care of her." His movement was simple. All he did was place the child in Beth's arms.

She screamed. Summer screamed at the top of her lungs and Rick hissed. He grabbed the child back and she stopped screaming. _The little shit won't let anyone but me take care of her._

Morty moved forward, cooing at Summer as she smiled at him. "I mean the solution- taking care of this is pretty simple. You have to take care of Summer, Rick. For three days."

Rick let the explanation slide over him. Lifting Summer in the air, he faked a grimace as slob slid down her chin. "Yeah. It seems easy. But if she's annoying, she's out."

* * *

The first day was going surprisingly easy. The family decided to watch television with Summer all day.

Rick didn't decide that. He'd much rather be taking care of Summer in the garage, but Beth said any fumes would bother her. And Jerry just didn't want him to 'hurt' Summer.

She lay on the couch, wearing some old dumb clothing Beth had found in the attack. It was a silly long sleeved shirt with a pink frog in the middle. Her pants, which seemed to be comfy -given her kicking legs- had tiny pink frogs all over them.

Her old clothes and pampers fit her perfectly because, as always, Summer was frail. Even in rebirth.

Some idiotic sports game, so Rick decided to keep his eye on Summer.

The child put one fist in the air. It must have been an accident because her eyes roamed the fist with confusion. Then they widened, seemingly bewitched.

Rick laughed. "Holy Moly." He said with feigned shock, but true amusement. "You have hands."

Summer laughed softly and put her other fist up. She opened and closed them a few times, staring at her palms and then her tiny nails. Then all at once, she tried stuffing both of her recent discoveries in her mouth.

Morty, who sat near, smiled. "Geez, Rick. You're really- really great with her."

"What? It's Summer. Almost anything pleases her. Watch this shit."

He ignored Jerry's 'please stop cursing in front of the kids' plea and leaned over Summer. Her fingers left her mouth as if she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. She stared at him for a while.

His own face formed a big grin and indefinitely, without poise, he yelled with gruffness. "Wazzzaaaap."

Summer laughed loudly. She moved like an octopus on a bad acid trip, limbs moving according to chaos theory rather than anything a behavioural scientist could explain.

She stopped laughing for a while. "Za da" she attempted to say. Rick got the message, however.

"Wazzzaaaap."

Again, it set her into a fit of giggles. And it must have been contagious. As her grin got wider, everyone started to smile - even Jerry, who loved to complain. Summer was bursting with liquid sunshine from within.

It was disgustingly cute.

She was disgustingly cute.

She smiled at Rick and once again commanded. "Za da."

He lifted her as she grabbed for him. "Wazzzaaaap."

More giggles and more kicking. Rick shook his head. "Beth, you were like this."

Beth raised a brow as if Summer's behavior was something bizarre and outrageous. "I...was?"

"Yeah. J-J-Just less happy. And oh, man. You used to shit everywhere. So I'll have to look out for that."

The man stood in a heap, holding Summer close to his chest. He grabbed her blanket as well.

Jerry stood too. "Where are you going?"

"Look...I get that you're the man of the house, Jerry, but I can't have my grandkids sit here and not do anything all day."

"Rick, she's a baby. Beth do something."

"We aren't goi- _eurp-_ anywhere dangerous. We're going out for icecream. You coming- Morty?"

With a nod of approval from his parents, the teen stood, following Rick to the garage.

"Are we really going out for ice cream, Rick?"

Summer grabbed hold of his lab coat. "Ooooo." She drawled.

Rick nodded. "Uhuh. That's great, sweetie. Yeah, Morty. We're going out for icecream. Ladeeda."

Morty blushed. "Just not in this dimension." When there was no denial of his claim, the boy put his hands on his head. "Rick, my dad's going to kill me if we put Summer in danger."

"Huh. If you think Summer's going to get hurt while I'm alive, you're just like your dumb dad."

Morty chose the moment to grow quiet.

"Now. I know the best place we can get icecream, bitch!"

* * *

Rick groaned as Summer cried loudly. "You didn't like the movie?" He asked quietly. She continued to whine and he groaned, laying her in the backseat of his cruiser as he proceeded to change her pamper.

"Hey, Morty, could you get me one of her bottles? They're in the compartment."

Morty nodded and handed the milk to Rick. By then, Summer's annoying screams had grown louder.

He put the bottle cap in her mouth, watching as she snatched it and greedily consumed its contents. Her watery eyes became dazy.

"Don't snatch." He muttered, glaring at her. In reply she only kicked her foot out.

He smirked at her. "Silly ass kid."

"Where are we going now?"

Rick turned the key of his cruiser.

The whole ship resonated with the deep growl of the engine. _Fuck,_ he thought.

"Oh, boy. W-what's wrong, Rick? Is it the quantum carburetor or something?"

"Quantum carburetor? Jesus, Morty. You can't just add a- _eurp-_ Sci-Fi word to a car word and hope it means something." He looked at the engine.

"Huh, looks like something's wrong with the microverse battery. We're gonna have to go inside."

"Um, go inside what?"

"The battery, Morty." he said in annoyance.

The teen looked in the backseat. "What about my sister?"

Rick groaned internally. "Computer ke-"

He froze. Summer's eyes were wide as she stared at him. They rested, not unblinking but slowed; yet the effect was soft and inviting instead of harsh. Perhaps it was her tiny parted lips that give away her intention, not quite smiling but tilting as if they meant to.

Rick sighed and the ship spoke calmly. "What is my temporary purpose, Rick?"

He smiled at Summer softly as she dropped her bottle. "Just lock down until we get back."

With ease, he unstrapped the child and placed her on his shoulder, beginning to pat her back.

Her tiny nose rubbed against him and she whimpered a little. Maybe because her stomach was so full.

"Shh." He whispered, listening to her burp softly.

* * *

Morty grumbled as he placed on his antennas. Rick stood over by the door, putting on Summer's antennas.

"You like 'em?" He whispered, smiling as her eyes grew hazy. She would be asleep soon. "I like 'em on your head."

"This is slavery, Rick. I don't know."

"It's society. They work for each other, Morty. They pay each other. They buy houses. They get married and make children that replace them when they get too old to make power."

"Abaa."

He smiled. "See. Summer's smart enough to see the beauty behind all of this."

Morty looked over to his sister. "She's asleep. And that just sounds like slavery with extra steps."

He rolled his eyes. "Ooh-la-la, someone's gonna get laid in college." Carefully, he squeezed Summer tighter as they landed. "Anyway, Wait for the ramp, Morty. They love the slow ramp. Really gets their dicks hard when they see this ramp just slowly extending down."

Morty grew mortified. "Summer is a baby!" He yelled incredulously.

"Uhuh...and Hitler was half Jew, but his goonies didn't care about that, now did they?"

Rick went to flipping the crown of aliens off. "Do it, Morty. It means peace amongst worlds."

Morty sighed. "You're ridiculous." Nonetheless, he flipped off the crowd before them.

"Come on. There's the president."

The president could have been human had it not been for his sad existence and green skin.

He did not greet Rick or Morty, but instead stared at Summer's sleeping face, soft wind leaving her parted lips.

"By the Gods, she's hideous. I mean she's the ugliest child I've ever seen."

Somehow, Rick grew offended. Burning rage hissed through his body like deathly poison, screeching a demanded release in the form of unwanted violence. It was like a volcano erupting; fury sweeping off him like ferocious waves. The wrath consumed, engulfing his moralities and destroying the boundaries of peace.

No one, not even some fake God, could talk about his Summer that way.

Hideous? No way.

Ugly? Not likely.

He wanted to destroy this motherfucker's existence. To stop his battery was a low blow, but to say anything about his Sum Sum...to even think wrong of her...that was setting the timer on the bomb.

With a growl, he grabbed the man's collar. "What the fuck did you just say about my granddaughter?"

He saw the fear in the president's eyes and body. He noticed the man's hands come up with a tremble. His legs twitched, fighting the impulse to whirl around and sprint away.

Fire in the form of water stung his odd eyes, threatening their attack. He crunched his teeth over his lips harder than Rick had ever seen.

"Ugly. You told us it meant too beautiful."

Teasingly, his anger subsided and he let go, holding Summer protectively. "Oh….ugh….yeah. So anyway, I'd love to see how you guys are getting power now."

His statement had led them to Zeep, a scientist much like Rick, who was able to create another energy source for their planet.

He called it the miniverse, which Rick believed was a dumb name as well as slavery with extra steps.

Zeep stared confused before he chuckled, like a parent would to a lost child. "No, no, no, they work for each other in exchange for money, which they then-"

"Well, that just sounds like slavery with extra steps."

Zeep rolled his eyes. "Eek barba dirkle, somebody's gonna get laid in college."

Morty rubbed his temple and moved away. "Rick, a word?" When the scientist did make it over, he whispered quietly. "What the hell was that?"

"I know. 'Eek barba dirkle?' That's- _eurp-_ a pretty fucked up 'ooh-la-la.'''

"No, what are you doing telling this guy that his miniverse is unethical? Do you not see the hypocrisy here?"

Dark eyes widened. "Holy crap. You're right, Morty. Hypocrisy. Somewhere on this planet, there's got to be an arrogant scientist prick on the verge of microverse technology, which would threaten to make Zeep's flooble cranks obsolete, forcing Zeep to say microverses are bad; at which point he'll realize what a hypocrite he's being. His people will go back to stomping on their gooble boxes, and you, Summer, and I will be back on ice cream street, baby! Eating that motherfucking ice cream! Slurping, slurping, slurping it up."

Rick was sure his plan would work.

* * *

It backfired. But only for some time. Summer had woken up when they met Kyle, the scientist of his microverse, or what he liked to call it, teenyverse.

It hit Zeep with sudden realization that he was created for a single purpose too. And somehow, he guessed it sucked. It was almost like not really existing. In a span of an hour, Zeep had found out that everything and everyone he ever loved could not only disappear, but somehow had never existed.

So yeah, he supposed it sucked. But fuck that…Ricks didn't do 'feelings.'

He was shoved by the green scientist, setting Summer off in a few wails, her sleep interrupted by the movement.

He couldn't fight with her in his arms. He could only maintain distance from his angry creation. And the only way to do that was to keep his pistol pointed directly in Zeep's face.

"You're my battery, motherfucker! That's all you are! I made you! Your microverse sucks! And your miniverse is the size of a fucking lobster tank! It's whack!"

Zeep remained still, long after Kyle had flew his ship into a nearby boulder. Rick kept the gun on him.

"Now…I understand why you're angry. Your only purpose is something so little to me. But you're not going to hurt my granddaughter, you son of a bitch. I'll kill you where you stand."

Morty was freaking out, moving about, wondering how he would get back, fretting over not keeping Summer safe.

"Here's the plan, Morty."

* * *

The teenyverse had been destroyed and somehow, after all the trouble, Rick and his grandkids made it back to the ship.

He sighed as he strapped Summer in. "Ship, did everything go okay?"

The female computer spoke with ease. "Why yes. No trouble at all on my end. Did you manage to keep Summer safe?"

Summer moaned softly as Rick nuzzled her cheek. She kicked her legs a bit, but nonetheless accepted his small affection.

She even grabbed hold of his finger and shook it. "Ababa."

"Uhuh. Now you want ice cream?"

Summer giggled, as if the day's work definitely deserved ice cream. "Ababa. Aaaaahhhhh."

He laughed. Actually laughed. And it was so carefree that again there it was. Little Summer trying to save Rick's life.

He kissed her hand. "That a girl, Sum Sum."

 **Huh. I'm actually a day late with this update. Sorry about that guys. Anyway, I'm kind of rearranging the sequence of events in Rick and Morty. I hope you can all enjoy this. Baby Summer with Rick is so cute. Anyway, please review, friends. I'll update soon.**


	6. A Rick that Pays Well

**A Rick that Pays Well**

 **Hi, everyone. I'm here again to further the adventures of Rick and Summer (and Morty). I love how you guys were writing that in the reviews, by the way. Anyway, who wants to see some jealous Rick? Hehe. Here we go.**

"Morty, how's school going?" Beth asked softly as the boy ate his breakfast. They all sat at the table, excluding Summer, who was upstairs somewhere.

The boy looked up with a smile. "It's okay, I guess, mom. S-summer's been really good in helping me with math."

"That's great."

"She's been busy, and we have this science project coming up. I was wondering if you could help me out, Rick?"

Rick, focused solely on the device before him, nodded once. "Sure, whatever. We'll start tomorrow since Summer and I are going to Alphabetrium today."

Before Morty could thank him graciously, Jerry protested, claiming that it was a father son sort of project. With a little push from his mother, Morty sighed.

"Yeah, dad. Why don't we do it together?"

"Yes! You backed the right horse on this one, son. We'll get out the crayons, brew some coffee, and knock this thing out in two or three days."

Rick had finally finished his creation and the small robot strode toward him. "What is my purpose?"

"Pass the butter." And the robot complied, rolling away as the man spread it upon his pancakes.

There was some stepping and Rick watched his granddaughter come in with her purse, as well as a smile. She looked very happy.

In had been a week since Summer revealed that her adventures with her grandfather were saving her life. Catching her eye, the man smiled a good morning, hoping to lighten the burden she carried on herself.

Then something amazing happened, like a light turning on in a dark room. For just a moment, her eyes lit and she smiled back. Rick believed smiles really did have power. Well, Summer's at least. Hers could reach places the sun couldn't and warm the very soul.

Quickly, to not show favoritism, the man went back to his work.

"Dad, I need a ride to work."

The statement made him finally look up. It was more than just a slight tingle that ran underneath his skin. No, it was as though someone had attached a live wire to each of his nerves, and his body convulsed as the violent electrical current pulsed through him.

"Maybe Rick can give you a ride. I'm helping Morty with science."

Rick shook his head. "I'm busy."

She raised a brow. "Doing what?"

"Uh, anything else. And I thought you were coming to Alphabetrium with me today. I hear the whole- _eurp-_ planet is sick."

"Sorry, grandpa. Mr. Needful says it's urgent." The girl put on her pouty face and Rick rolled his eyes.

The butter robot strolled to Summer. "What is my purpose?" He asked calmly, holding out the butter to her.

She raised a brow. "I don't know. It looks like you pass butter."

The creation put it's head down. "Oh, my god."

"Yeah, welcome to the club, pal." Rick hid his smile of pride when she looked back at him. "So are you coming or not?"

"Ugh."

* * *

He didn't like the shop. It was eerie and disgusting and silent. It was the kind of silence that fell right before someone got knifed in the back. It sent a shiver down his spine and he felt his blood chill in his veins when he walked in.

And he especially didn't like _him_. _He_ made a silly joke about Summer being late and she had the audacity to _laugh_. And to top it off, he was creepy.

A charm to be sure. He had the right twinkle in his eyes and a voice that was more warm than sunlight on amber. And it sucked ass because Rick's voice was gruff and maybe unsatisfactory.

He knew his granddaughter had crushes on guys in school that had 'dreamy voices.' Yet this one had that air of power, of total confidence. Rick wanted to back away; he was just plain creepy.

And it seemed like the man had his granddaughter in the bag. He could tell her up was down and she'd probably follow him just to hear more of his disgustingly sweet words.

And then there was the way he looked at Summer. Like he did so much more than just take in her form like others did. In that way his own face starts to look like a mask, controlled in order to have a particular effect on Rick.

Like that devil knew exactly what stupid ass effect he had on his baby girl.

Summer urged him to go home and he complied for the sake of her being a normal teenage girl, but before snatching a microscope, one goal on his mind; he was going to save Summer from that monster.

* * *

"That should do." he muttered, not turning when he heard footsteps.

"Hey, Morty, let me ask you a question real quick. Does evil exist, and if so, can one detect and measure it?"

The boy twiddled with his thumbs. "Um…"

"Rhetorical question, Morty." If he let the boy think any further, his head might've exploded. "The answer's 'yes, you just have to be a genius.'"

"What's all this about?"

He sighed, wanting to growl at his recent memories. "Summer's boss is the devil. And he's doing some creepy shit. Check this out. This microscope would've made me dumb if I used it."

It was time for Morty to hyperventilate. His eyes widened. "Aww geez, Rick. Does Summer know- does she know she's working for the devil?"

"D-duh, Morty. Her school giving her a 4.5 and calling it a day doesn't limit her intelligence. I hate to - _eurp-_ break it to ya, but the kid- I mean the kid understands everything I say. I mean, I never have to explain anything to her, and sometimes, Morty….you know sometimes she explains for herself. Like mathematical theories and astronomical equations."

"So what are you doing, exactly?"

"I'm going to ruin his business so that Summer can come on more adventures with me."

Again, the teen boy grew anxious. "Rick, that's terrible. You'd kill Summer. I mean, it sounds crazy, but having a job at this age makes her feel normal."

"She _is_ normal."

"I mean 'no salutatorian status, but regular girl' normal. I mean the one where she could actually have a chance to be happy."

"She's happy with me."

A silence came as Morty's mouth opened with shock, and then curled into a large grin. "You're jealous."

"Excuse me?"

"You think Summer has some sort of new grandpa with her boss. And she chose work instead of going to Alphabetrium with you. I don't know, Rick- tha- it's pretty messed up."

Rick rolled his eyes. "Hey fuck that. I don't get jealous. Especially about some fucking school girl who cries herself to sleep at night."

And yet…. They were both old men, but still Rick didn't deny that Mr. Needful outshined him in some aspects.

Like Rick, he was tall, but he was willowy and had a face cut right from the pages of a men's magazine.

He cared little about his looks as a scientist. So he had the sort of face people forgot even before they'd stopped looking at it. It was his mind that made them all remember.

He wanted some accident to happen to Mr. Needful's face, something terrible, just enough to make him ordinary too.

 _He_ had Summer's adoration. Rick's _work_ had Summer's adoration, as far as he knew. Mr. Needful seemed popular with people. Summer longed for social power while Rick hated everyone.

He had to face it. The only thing that kept him close to his granddaughter was their love for science and their intelligence to get them there.

But she and the creepy….asshole….they had a lot in common.

It was a low blow and Morty's eyes narrowed. Before either could begin arguing, Jerry walked in with a scowl.

"Did you ask him if Pluto was a planet? You did, didn't you?" He accused. "I don't care."

"It's not." The scientist replied cooly.

"Shut up, Rick."

"Woah." Rick smirked, grabbing his phone. "We'll ask the genius."

"I don't care what NASA says!" Jerry yelled, but Rick ignored him, only placing his cell on speaker.

Someone sighed on the other end. " _Grandpa, I'm busy stocking."_

Jerry's face grew horrified. "It's really quick, Summer. What is Pluto?"

Summer sighed again. " _Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond Neptune. It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered. You know this, right?"_

"Of course, sweetie. You're dad says it is."

" _What? Tell him astronomers had been turning up larger and larger objects in the Kuiper Belt. And it would have been a matter of time before they found something larger than Pluto. And that's why dwarf planets became a thing."_

There was some shuffling and noises in the back and Rick leaned forward to hear.

" _I have to work. If Morty's doing the solar system for his project, make sure he doesn't put Pluto as a planet."_

With a click, the line went dead.

"I don't care what anyone says. If it can be a planet, it can be a planet again. _Planet_. Planet, planet, planet."

"Stay scientific, Jerry." Rick grabbed hold of the microscope. "Well, I should get going, Morty. Good luck with your dumb dad."

"Thanks, I guess."

* * *

Rick opened Needful Thing's door with such force that everyone turned their heads.

Summer raised a brow. "Grandpa Rick?"

"That's my name, baby." He spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"Exposing."

He walked forward, handing the microscope to the devil. "You can have this back."

"You didn't use it?"

"Sure I did…..to develop this. It detects and catalogs all your 'twilight zone', 'ray bradbury', 'Friday the 13th' the series voodoo crap magic.

I thought you might want it so you didn't accidentally sell anybody, say... A typewriter that generates best-selling murder mysteries and then makes the murders happen in real life?"

Summer gasped and Rick smirked. "That's right, sweetie. This motherfucker's a scam."

It seemed a bit silly. Almost odd even. Summer's face turned a cherry red. Her eyes narrowed.

"Grandpa Rick... I _like_ working here."

He sighed with exasperation. For a smart girl, Summer was being a little stupid. "Summer. You work for the devil."

"Ah yes, but let's not forget about how you left, resulting in her depression in the first place."

The devil's words weren't needed. He was sticking his nose in the wrong debate.

His eyes narrowed then and he balled his fist. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"If you were there-"

"You motherfucker!"

Anger swirled like a red tide within him, rising to choke him. His breath became harsh and shallow, his hands automatically curling into fists at his sides, itching to swing out and put a dent in the face before him.

She was his granddaughter.

The fight that ensued was childish, as Summer would later claim. They tussled for some time, ignoring her cries. After a while, Rick's tongue was soaked in the taste of blood. Bruised and winded, with a leg in agony, he grabbed the foot of the devil and pulled him to the ground. His head was pounding. He brought a fist to the disgusting face, snapping his nose into a grotesquerie.

They somehow managed to rise again, kicking and scratching.

"Stop! Stop fighting!"

Rick aimed for his face again, but everything froze.

The slap was as loud as a clap and stung Summer's face. It had been an open-handed smack and it had left a red welt behind. Just below her eye was a small cut where Rick's fingernail had caught her. She staggered backwards, clutching her face, eyes watering.

"Fuck...Summer...I-"

"Grandpa. Go home."

* * *

He stormed into the house with no emotion hidden. The door made a loud cranking noise and he made no move to close.

He was so….angry!

"Fuck this. Fuck it right up the asshole." He hissed with more venom then the fake snake that seduced a fake God's fake fucking Eve.

He threw his serum on the couch. "No...no...fuck _him_. That's my granddaughter, you asshole."

He made a move to pace around the living room. "Yeah. Fuck him. That's my granddaughter."

"Uh...Rick? What's wrong?"

He turned with venom in his eyes. "That motherfucker is stealing Summer from me."

Morty put his hands up in a surrender motion. "Hey. Calm down, will you?"

"I am calm. Don't tell me to calm down, Morty. Your day isn't half as _-eurp-_ bad as mine."

"Hey! Don't...my day- my day is just as bad because my dad thinks Pluto is a planet."

Rick glared. "Uh. Uh. We're different, you little bitch. I'm about to sabotage this needful shit. _You_ should admit to your father that he's an idiot."

Grabbing the serum from the couch, the scientist left quickly.

* * *

The cameraman smiled at Rick. "And we're live."

"Have you acquired creepy specific old stuff from a mysterious antique or thrift store that gives you powers but fucks with you in unforeseeable ways?

Bring it to _Curse Purge Plus_. I use science to un-curse the items for cash, and you get to keep the powers."

He walked over the a dark man, who stood smiling with sneakers in his hand. "This guy got mysterious sneakers to make him run faster, but guess what? He would have had to run until he died, making them worthless. I removed the curse, making them worth, like, I don't know, $8 million. See you at the olympics."

"This eerily intelligent doll was threatening to murder its family. Now it does their taxes. Everything's deductible. Don't pay for cool stuff with your soul. Pay for it with money. You know, like how every other store in the world works? We're located at First and Main in old town. Come on- come on down."

The camera went off and Rick walked back into his store with determination lined across his face. If this didn't lure Summer, because dammit she was so stubborn, he didn't know what would.

Just as the thought ran past, Summer stormed in. She looked so hurt. She was saying some things, but he couldn't really comprehend.

All he could see was the bruise now underlying her eye from his slap.

Around the cut was a purple welt, scattered like a disease.

The bruise was like the petals of summer, kissed purple and yellow as the hue of her skin snuck in.

Summer sighed in exasperation, her arms going everywhere. Finally, all sound returned. "Grandpa, are you even listening?"

"I'm sorry what?" He questioned. Although genuinely confused, his question came out smug.

Summer stormed out in frustration. "Wait, Summer, you need to clean that cut."

But she was already gone. He hissed and grabbed a can of gasoline. "Everyone out. I just got bored."

But really, he just felt alone.

Utterly and unmistakably alone.

* * *

Beth was at work.

Morty was somewhere with his dumb dad.

Summer was with her new grandpa.

 _New grandpa._ The thought made the man sigh. It sucked really. It should have been Rick and Summer for one hundred years. Forever and ever.

Before, he aimlessly roamed the dimensions, pretending to be interested in the most mind wrecking shit. But all he needed was someone to share the places with. But now she'd gone to be 'normal.'

He took a long drag from his flask and let the depression sink in.

The darkness swirled around him, tendrils of inkling bleak reminders of his solitude. The silence echoing in his ears was the constant white noise that never shut up.

With the liquor burning his throat, his head swam in the fire burning inside, the only smouldering embers of a time where there had been other presences with him, around him, in him. But now, the void had been slowly filled with a cold, howling storm of fear that refused to ever let up.

Without Summer, he just felt completely and utterly alone in his mind, body, soul, and most of all, entirely alone in the world.

So Rick decided, eh...why not reminisce?

He sat cross-legged in the garage, putting a strand of hair in his memory gun.

"Rick Sanchez; Earth Dimension C-137; age 56; status, Alive. Showing Rick's Memories from…"

"Sixteen years ago, Mid-day, Smith Residence."

The image that popped up made Rick chuckle as all he could see was him holding Summer, her ginger tufts sticking every which way.

He listened in on the memory. _When she smiled, her pacifier met gravity and some gargled spit kissed her chin._

 _Rick laughed loudly then, grabbing the baby and raising her high. "Just like me."_

Rick laughed along with the memory. His hand touched the small dial on the memory gun and he fast forwarded, just a tad.

He stopped at Summer, sleeping soundly in his arms. Without pause, he recited every word his past self said.

"You know, kid. I always knew I was more Rick than any other. I always knew that whatever happened in my dimension was the original way to do things. The other Ricks had Beths that ditched your dumb father; Beths that gave you up any way they could. If they kept you, they ditched Jerry or even vice versa. But, I suppose you aren't _that_ annoying. And I guess you're not a dipshit like you're father. And Beth doesn't treat you like a pain in the ass.

My Beth kept you and the loser and she seems successful. Maybe that was the right thing to do? So what do you say, huh? Rick and Summer for one hundred years?"

He sighed. Summer was so innocent and frail back then. Ultimately, she still was. The smallest things could hurt her, but she was strong enough to not let them.

"Show memories from eleven years ago. When I came to check on Summer."

The image changed. And Rick found himself outside of Summer's first class. He remembered wanting to see her again.

She was scared and crying and clinging to Beth's leg, begging the woman not to leave her in that room.

Her first day of school and she hated it. Rick sat the small stuffed animal on an open windowsill as Beth kissed Summer once more and left.

He saw the girl run to the window, away from everyone, and cry her tears out. When she looked up, she went quiet.

" _Ooh."_ She said. It was a small doll shaped like an 'S' that he'd gotten from Alphabetrium.

And that was why he wanted so badly to take her there today. She'd stopped crying when she found the toy, Rick figured she'd love Alphabetrium.

He sighed heavily. It was a day wasted. But all he needed were the memories of her to keep him happy.

"Grandpa?"

He grabbed his hair from the the memory gun, and turned, finding Summer there.

"What?" He asked harshly. "Where's your pretend Grandpa?"

Summer sighed. It was then he noticed the bruises on her knuckles and the tint of blood on her shoe.

"I dumped him." She spoke.

"Must have been one hell of a punch. And kick." he added absentmindedly.

She smiled. "Yeah?"

"What made you come- _eurp-_ back?"

Summer sighed, shaking her head. She pulled a strand of her hair out and placed it in the memory gun.

It turned on. "Summer Smith; earth dimension C-137; age 17; status alive. Finding Summer's memories for…."

"Twenty minutes prior." The girl muttered.

The image appeared and Summer had turned away from an audience to Mr. Needful. " _Google just bought us!"_ He told the crowd.

Summer jumped up and down with a squeal of delight. " _Grandpa Rick's going to be so proud_."

" _Rick?_ " The devil asked incredulously. " _That asshole ruined us before. He'll do it again if he knows._ "

" _What did you just say?"_ Her question and tone we're dangerous and the devil's face marred into slight fear.

" _Summer_ …"

The memory seemed rocky thereafter because Summer had pounced on the man, kicking and scratching and punching and biting.

It ended with her being dragged away from his crippling body and lots of yelling.

" _My grandpa may be an asshole and a little uncaring at times, but he's sure as hell better than you, you piece of shit!"_

The memory ended and Summer looked down in shame. Rick was sure she'd done so before. Maybe if she got a B on a paper, this was the shame she felt when her parents spoke with her.

"Summer…" he began.

"I know it wasn't the way to go about things, but-"

"Summer, you just beat the devil. I mean- I mean that's fucking awesome."

She smiled and Rick looked down as her cheek smushed against the bruise beneath her eye. "Can we still go to Alphabetrium?"

* * *

"I had no idea they had an Ice T on Alphabetrium." Summer spoke as they came into the house late at night.

"I told you the planet was awesome." Rick boasted.

"I mean even though I don't like governments in general, their council was pretty cool. Magma-Q, Magnesium-J, and Hydrogen-F seemed to know their stuff."

"I knew you'd like it."

"Somehow." The girl said with confusion. "I knew too. Like maybe something from the past told me I'd like it."

Rick thought about the old doll and shrugged. "Chill with the voodoo bullshit, Summer." He grabbed the serum from his pocket. "Hold still."

The needle was pushed into Summer's bruise with ease even though she winced. Instantly, the scar and purple welt disappeared.

With wonder, her fingers roamed her cheek. She didn't flinch in pain once. "Wow." She muttered.

Rick shrugged. "It's the least I could do since I...you know."

He watched her bottom lip tremble.

Wordlessly, Rick held his arms open in invitation, and like wind, Summer flung herself into his embrace with a strangled sob. She buried her face into the crook of Rick's neck and they stood there like that for a while; Summer wracked with the force of unvoiced cries and Rick holding her, heart aching for his baby girl.

"I'm sorry for not listening, Grandpa Rick." She sobbed.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "It's alright."

"It's not." She protested. "I just dropped you to be a lame teen girl and I forget that you hurt too. You're just like me even if you don't like showing it. I'm sorry."

If not so used to Summer reading him, he would have tensed. But he stayed where he was, holding her until she shut the hell up.

"Please don't leave again." She whimpered. "I know mom's going to hate it."

Rick sighed in slight shame. He wanted to tell her that he didn't come back for Beth. He wanted her to know that, as much as it made him feel dick, he didn't come back for Beth. He came back for Summer. For both their sake.

"Shh."

"Please don't leave me alone." She sobbed. "I like living now. Please don't leave me again."

Rick closed his eyes, remembering all the times he could have saved her from the world, but didn't. All the times he could have saved himself. "Never again, baby." He promised.

 **Well l hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Just put a little loneliness in there for Rick and Summer. Because now, it's getting to the point where they both need each other. If Summer's going to jump, Rick's going in too. Well, have a good night friends.**


	7. With No Rick to Go

**With No Rick to Go**

 **Hey everyone. Shout-out to my reviewers, followers, and favorites. You guys are awesome.**

He was so bored.

The plasma screen sat before them. He tried not to look at the family yelling about some guy choosing a fake wife, but he couldn't deny that the show seemed so much worse than the real thing.

The television should mean fantasy, looking at the lives of others, being a fly on the wall - not a poor copy of their own disorders, the world's own monotony.

Rick's foot tapped rhythmically up and down, his cheeks felt tight. Then almost without a conscious thought, he picked up his interdimensional cable box, breaking Jerry's in the process.

"Hey!" The man cried.

Morty leaned forward with a grin. "Oh, cool! Is that crystallized Zanthonite? It conducts electrons across dimensions."

Rick shook his head. "Twenty percent accurate, as usual, Morty. The important thing being I just upgraded our cable package with programming from every conceivable reality."

He flicked through a few channels, sneered at a guy eating shit, and was stopped by Jerry and Beth.

"That was Jerry as David Letterman." Beth spoke in wonder.

"How is this possible?"

Rick sighed. "Infinite timelines, infinite possibilities. Including a timeline where Jerry's a movie star. Look, you guys are getting excited about the wrong aspect of this device."

They didn't seem to listen, too engrossed in the television.

Once more, he sighed. He didn't just leave boredom to watch Jerry on TV. That was fucking boring.

"Now who wants to watch random, crazy TV shows from different dimensions... and then who wants to narcissistically obsess about their alternate self?"

"I want to obsess about myself." Jerry muttered.

"The narcissistic stuff." Claimed Beth.

Rick pulled out his goggles. "Here. These scan your retinas, and let you view parallel time lines through genetically matching versions of your eyes." Throwing in the kitchen, he watched Beth and Jerry get up like dogs. "Go fetch!"

"Yes! This is so cool!"

"Ladies First!"

Rick smiled at the remaining Smith upon the couch. "I'm proud of you, Morty."

The boy just shook his hands. "Hey man, I don't give a crap about myself, Rick."

"Let's watch some crazy stuff, yo!"

Rick clicked over on the remote and a man, who strangely resembled Mr. Poopybutthole, stood at some sort of warehouse. " _I'm Ants-In-My-Eyes Johnson, Here at Ants-in-My-Eyes Johnson's Electronics. I mean, there's so many ants in my eyes! And there's so many TVs, microwaves, radios.. I think, I can't... I'm not 100% sure what we have here in stock, because I can't see anything."_

Rick snorted at the idiot. "Holy, shit. Summer would love this."

There was some silence, neither man nor teen listening to the television. It was Morty who sat up first. "Where _is_ Summer?"

Rick shrugged. "She's probably in the garage. I bought her a lab coat like mine and I let her make her own portal gun."

"You let her make her own portal gun?"

Rick shrugged. "Once she- _eurp-_ knew how to- how to make it, there was no stopping her. But yeah, she's probably in there gushing over it. You know how teenage girls are."

Another moment of silence passed. Morty still seemed a little spaced out. But Rick thought nothing of it. Morty had always been a nervous wreck. He'd tell him a pencil broke, and the boy would be shitting bricks.

"Do you think she's angry?"

Rick muted the television then, not sure where this conversation was going. "Angry about what?"

"When you were, you know, out last night, Summer came home late from her friend Janice's house. I guess- I guess dad was pretty angry, and mom said it was normal. They started arguing and-"

"They were yelling about the abortion weren't they?"

"You know about that?"

"Yeah, Morty. It isn't hard to find the source of your parents' stupid arguments. That's why Summer exists in like 4000 realities compared to billions."

"Aww, geez, Rick. I'm going to make sure she's okay."

"You do that." The man muttered, not fully worried about the situation.

Morty nodded and left, but it wasn't until two minutes later that he shrilled at the top of his lungs. "Oh no!"

"Morty!" Rick stood, running into the garage, finding the boy desperately clinging to thin air.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed.

"Summer's gone!"

"What? What do you mean she's gone?"

"She just left, Rick. She went through the portal and I tried to grab her, but…." The boy trailed off, going rigid, and putting his knees to his chin.

"Morty." Rick called, the boy still would not move. With a fast crouch, he tapped the boy's face. Still, he did not move or blink. The boy was probably in shock.

"Shit." Standing, the scientist walked over to a tray which held Summer, his, and Morty's hairs.

His actions were quick.

"Summer Smith; earth dimension C-137; age 17; status; alive. Showing Summer's memories for…."

"Last night." He muttered.

The image that appeared showed Summer in the bathroom. "No." He whispered, leaning forward.

The only thing that allured his gaze was the flash of shiny silver. The razor blade.

"Christ, no. Don't, Summer. No. No. No. Don't do it, Sum." He begged the memory.

All he could see were the fading scars on her arm, purple and pretty. The silk that dropped from the thunder clouds, vapor mixed with electric sparks coursing through the seas.

All he could hear were the yells in the back. Beth and Jerry, somehow skewing away from Summer being out late to Summer being the problem.

" _I didn't ask for this, Beth! I wanted a life of my own! I wanted to be happy! Now I'm stuck with a woman who loves me when she's down and two kids who respect their drunken grandfather more than me!"_

" _You don't want this? Pretty hard to tell when you're the one who brought fate into getting an abortion! You're the one who made all this unhappiness possible!"_

Summer pushed the razor deep in her skin, moving across it like a boat on whistling waves.

Rick fell back, covering his face as she moved the razor up and repeated it. This time faster. This time harsher.

They gasped together and he felt so sick about the blood that spewed over her skin.

The dark red blood made its way out of her body, oozing between the spaces between her fingers as Summer gripped her slashes with a shaky hand.

The memory grew hazy, signalling that Summer's own vision during the memory became blurrier.

She clutched her stomach as if the wound was there, but the blood only turned her pink shirt scarlet.

" _Grandpa."_ She called desperately, but she was quiet as she swayed in jagged motions.

Beth was still screaming about how unhappy she was and Jerry cut her off with his own scream.

" _It was a mistake! If I'd known it would be this messed up, I would have carried you to that abortion clinic myself!"_

Summer collapsed. The memory went dark.

Spinning the dial, the man waited patiently for something to show up, almost sighing in relief as it appeared again. She woke up with the heavy sighs, the blood on her arm now a maroon going on black.

"How long was she unconscious in there?" He whispered to himself. Did no one bother to check the downstairs bathroom all night? Did her parents even go into her room after their argument?

Summer grunted for some time, disoriented and confused. She looked down at her fresh cuts upon her arm, and Rick sighed when the sounds of silent crying filled the void.

Everything was perfect. Everything was great….and once again the problem appeared. No matter how happy Summer seemed to be, there was an underlying sadness to her.

No matter what, Summer would always be broken. It didn't matter how _good_ she had it. Depression found a way to make every situation hopeless.

Everything in her world must have been falling apart. And all she could do was stare blankly.

He watched as the girl stood and left her mess on the bathroom floor. With a stumble, she made her way out, her vision blurring from the loss of blood.

There were some pleas coming from the living room and Summer peaked in, watching everyone before the television.

He noticed the same idiotic bachelor show they'd been watching and his stomach dropped.

His and Summer's rooms were downstairs. They basically shared that bathroom. And all night, Summer lay on the floor unconscious, Rick never stepped foot in there.

She probably felt so hurt and alone.

Without another glance, the girl moved to the garage. She hastily slipped into the lab coat Rick bought her. And Rick grimaced as she nearly fell back from dizziness and the blood that stained her sleeve.

Going into his safe, she grabbed her own portal gun and a pistol, looking away as she put in some coordinates. She moved to the portal that opened. Just as she was about to step in, a small voice stopped her.

" _Summer? What's going on?"_

She turned to Morty and the boy gasped. " _Why's there blood on you? Why are you crying_?"

" _I'm sorry, Morty."_

"No!" Rick called as she ran into the portal.

She was gone. She was wounded. She was missing. She was alone.

"No." He whispered, putting his face into the garage floor.

Summer's memory went blank and Rick growled. But really, he didn't feel angry. Just alone. Like always.

In that moment, he swore that nothing in the universe could be so heavy as the absence of Summer.

His little Summer, so much like the season to him, lighting the scenery with pastel old shades, mixing with the vibrant emerald shades of the grass.

Jerry's laughter echoed through the house and Rick's face turned, his eyes serious and lips dampened.

Standing, the man stormed to the kitchen. With brute force, he yanked his goggles from Jerry's face.

"What the hell, Rick? I was snorting with Johnny Depp."

With as much force as he could, the man slammed the goggles on the floor. It appeared to fall with the grace of snow, yet in truth it was more of a wild avalanche and just as deadly.

"Get your shit together." He hissed. "Both of you. Just because you made past mistakes doesn't mean you blame your children for it. You don't get to enjoy other lives. Make this one right."

With that, he stormed away, grabbing his gear.

"Dad, what's going on? What's wrong with Morty?" Beth crouched before her frozen child, tapping his face. "Morty. Oh god."

Jerry frowned, his gaze steady as Rick placed two pistols in his waistband. The old man moved over to the counter, grabbing a tracking device and his portal gun. "Where are you going? You can't just yell at us and run!"

"Summer's gone, dumbass. I don't have time for this?"

"What, Summer's gone? Where? Rick, what's going on?"

Beth stood in false anger, concealing her fears. "Dad, answer him. Where is our daughter?"

"So now _you- eurp-_ care about her?" His question was harsh, his voice filled with so much venom that Beth moved back in a way that she'd been stabbed.

He sighed. "Look I don't know where she is. All I know is that she's hurt and I have to find her. No one's going to get her if I'm alive."

"You don't know where she went. How could you find her?"

Rick held up a tracker. "This. When Summer made her portal gun, she placed a tracking magnet in hers. I'll find her."

Rick said nothing about it. "I'll get by the nearest dimensions and see what I find. Don't worry. Summer's not going to end up in any dangerous place."

* * *

Summer coughed as she opened her eyes. The sun was so bright, the heat unbearable.

Red.

Red was all she could see.

The planet had a sandy surface. Like blood, but not the vivid red of the freshly spilled, but more the browning red of old blood.

The girl crouched down. "Red sand? I thought this was only in games. Portal, where am I?"

The portal gun flashed a bright red. "We are in dimension F-1019, planet Thry, population; 0. 24 light years from home."

Summer sighed. Even her dimension picking wasn't lucky. Still, she smirked at the fact that the population was zero. No intelligent species meant no problems.

All she had to do was find a nearby home. Or maybe find another dimension. More earthly.

"Yeah." She smiled. She didn't know if she would ever return home, but her new one should be like it. She was ready to start anew. "More earthly."

The girl once again pulled out her portal gun, scrolling through dimensions.

However, there was a gurgling sound that stopped her. Standing, the teen turned, only to freeze, and for the smile to dissipate.

She didn't know what she'd expected to face when she turned, but this was the opposite.

It was narcissism to think for a second that whatever was walking to her would be humanoid and absolutely delusional to think that it would be like anything from earth.

By the way it noticed her, it was apparent that it was a sentient, intelligent being. Yet, it had nothing that could be recognized as any form of nervous system.

"The fuck?" She whispered. The thing was almost zombie like, the way it gurgled and swayed to her slowly. "Don't come any closer." She stated.

And still, it came closer and closer. Summer couldn't believe it. It was some form of a Zombie. And it looked like a girl.

The thing didn't need bulk, her muscles were many times stronger than her Summer's, not to mention that Summer was still weak and dizzy from blood loss.

It was little more than a wisp of a creature with diminutive limbs and still took down the meal of it's choice each dawn. It's skin was wrinkled like a dried prune and thick like leather; bimodal with long arms and a small head with an elongated muzzle like a wolf.

In it's jaws were inch long teeth, serrated like a steak knife. It snarled at Summer and inched even closer.

Summer pulled out her pistol slowly. "Stay back." It did not stop, only inched closer.

Summer shot at what appeared to be a shoulder, but the being kept coming, now in fury from the shot. "What the hell is this, a zombie movie."

Aiming between it's eyes, she shot and the thing finally went down. He shook for some time, spazzing in crazy directions before dispersing like a combusted grenade, spreading onto the read sand.

Summer's head tilted in mild confusion. When the being died, he'd exploded. No blood, no draining, just….. she gasped softly, reaching down to touch the sand.

"Oh god." She muttered. It wasn't red sand.

This whole surface was made of ashes.

"Portal gun, tell me about this planet. Why's the population zero?"

The portal gun once again flashed a bright red. "Planet Thry was once a prosperous planet. However, 1000 years, 25 months, four days, two hours, and 26 seconds ago…"

Summer rolled her eyes as the device continued. "A major outbreak of this planet's pylothosis virus caused more than half of it's intelligent species to turn. This resulted in a major war, causing the last of the intelligent species to flee, leaving the inferior life forms of what you call _ZOMBIES_."

Summer cursed, finally looking around.

She saw it, saw it all at last: the rolling armies and the flames of battle; the graves and pits and dying cries of a hundred million souls; the spreading darkness, like a black wing stretching over the earth…death's great dominion over all, and, at the last, empty cities, becalmed by the silence of a thousand years.

She stared at the red ashes. This apocalyptic dimension had to hold the largest graveyard she'd ever seen.

Just the sound of gurgling, made the teen raise her pistol. With nothing in sight, but a small town up ahead, her brows were raised.

"Huh?"

Some gurgling behind her and the girl spun on her heels, almost freezing at the sight.

A mass of them. Zombies, monsters, whatever. They were running for her, jagged legs, the speed of race cars. Running for her. Summer gasped and turned, running for her life.

"Help!" She screamed, but there was no one. If she could just make it into town without wasting the last of her four bullets.

Her head pulsed with a tremor and she hissed as the pain in her arm took over. "No." She moaned.

The sounds of grunts and moans were closing in. Something grabbed her leg, making her trip.

The portal gun she'd been running with crashed onto the sand, shattering into tiny pieces.

"Noooooo!"

The zombies pounced. Not biting but, pulling and scratching at her skin. It hurt and stung so much.

A shot rang out and a red flame, maybe a flare, sped past her.

* * *

Rick smiled. Summer was just three and a half hours away. He'd be to her location in no time. "Don't worry, Sum- what the hell?"

Her portal gun tracker disappeared, signalling that it had been shattered. Was she in trouble? Where did she end up?

Dismissing his negative and fearful thoughts, the man sighed, choosing instead to look at the twelve planets of dimension F-1019.

All of the were aligned in a perfect circle. All of them were three and a half hours away

Summer could be on any of them since they were bearable. He needed to hurry for her. But the only way he could do that was old fashioned tracking.

Grabbing his phone, the man dialed two numbers. Ones he hadn't used in a while now that he had Summer.

"Squanchy, Birdperdon…." He inhaled sharply as he clutched Summer's photo. "It's urgent. It's so important." He whispered.

* * *

When the flare was shot, the beings scratching at her skin stood dysfunctionally and followed it, snarling and pushing one another one the way.

"You okay?" The voice was soothing, and yet Summer reached for her pistol.

The beings must have been scratching so hard that they spread her self-wounds open even more. Whoever saved her crouched low, holding her still.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're okay." Whoever it was held her still and soothingly. "You're okay. You just have to be careful."

Her eyes opened, finding a boy with shaggy blue hair, like Rick's, and soft eyes, like Morty's. He removed his jacket, wrapping her arm.

"Why?" She muttered, her conscious running away and returning every minute.

He smiled softly at her wounds. Somehow, he didn't her need to elaborate. "I guess... I guess once you get to used to things, every life is sacred to you. I guess to me, you're pretty important."

Summer smiled too, letting the darkness hug her, holding her and keeping her safe.

* * *

When her eyes opened, she still saw the red sky.

Still felt the red ashes.

Still heard the distant gurgles of the beings that wanted her dead.

Still smelled the death and blood and sadness of a thousand years.

Still tasted her own blood in her mouth.

"What?" She whispered.

"Easy there." It was the same voice that rocked her to sleep and Summer found herself going easy.

They were quiet for some time. Summer distracted by her wounds that stopped bleeding and the strange boy distracted by her.

"You're human? From earth aren't you?" He eventually asked.

She said nothing, still not trusting anything around her. Her grandpa's words rang through her like a jolt of lightening.

 _You trust anyone too much, Summer, and it's going to backfire. Don't fuck up out here, baby. They'll eat you alive._

The boy smiled, sweet and soft, with a shake of his head. "I'm Aiden by the way." He grabbed her healthy arm and placed a light metal in it. "I went back for your gun."

She still said nothing, only staring. Because somehow, staring became easier and he was just too nice to not trust.

"Hey, if you don't want me around, I'll go. But I'll tell ya, you might meet me again." He smirked. "World seems to get smaller closer to the end."

Summer fought the urge to laugh at his satirical humor. "I'm sorry." She whispered hoarsely.

Aiden put up a finger. "Hold that thought." As gentle as he could be, the teen lifted her head and put a water bottle to her mouth. Drinking the contents with hunger, the girl coughed.

"Easy there, tiger. One prey at a time."

"I'm sorry. It's just you look….you have my grandfather's hair color. And you have my brother's eyes."

Aiden smiled. "I hope that they have good memories in you. I hope I didn't bring back some heavy stuff."

"No. No. You're fine. Those are the two most important people in the world to me."

Another flashy smile that Summer never missed. "Awesome."

The guy seemed trusting. He didn't ask Summer much and she didn't he. He continued making sure her arm was alright and she continued thinking about her grandfather's lesson.

 _Summer, if it looks too good to be true, maybe it is._

"So what made you come here?"

His inquiry made her tense up. Why did it matter anyway? She didn't know him. He could be a threat. But he'd saved her life. And his soft eyes were too trusting.

"Why does that matter?"

A shrug with a blush. "I don't know. I...I guess you looked like you were running."

She glared. "I was running. Those pack of zombies were coming after me."

"No. I guess you just looked like you were running from something before that. Like you were sad."

"Well I wasn't so don't be pushy." The stubborn girl hissed.

An awkward silence passed between them before she sighed. What was her problem? Even in another dimension, she still had the tendency to fuck things up.

"Look. I'm sorry. This just isn't the place I wanted to end up. No offense."

Aiden smiled softly. "None taken."

"I was running. I just wanted out."

"Out of what exactly?"

Without a doubt, hesitation, or heartbeat, Summer told him. She told him how she'd ruined her parent's lives because of her birth. Told him that they were all unhappy because of her. Told him that she tried to kill herself more than once. Told him how much she hated herself for what her parents made her realize.

She hated all of her. She was a disaster. She told him that she couldn't fathom why her baby brother, the only light left, appreciated her the way he did. Told him that her grandfather was trying to save her life even when he knew it wasn't working.

She told him everything. She was alone. Utterly alone and broken. And by herself, she had to see through it.

Aiden asked her how this was all her fault and why she had to sacrifice happiness for them. He asked her why she had to run when it was her parents running her whole life.

Summer sobbed. "Because, Aiden, sometimes running away is the heroic thing to do. In a way, I'm saving them. They'll be happy without me. I'm just a burden."

She wiped her face roughly, feeling stupid for even crying before anyone.

"You want to know something about the future, Summer? You want to know what I think's going to happen on your running?"

"What?"

Aiden smiled softly. "Someday, someone's going to love every inch of you- sunset on your eyes, moonlight in your hair, the sadness nestled into the creases of your palms. They're going to kiss all the parts you kept hidden and tell you how beautiful it is.

Someone's going to tell you they love you, Summer. All of you. And not just the parts that make sense. The parts they won't even understand yet."

The declaration made Summer's mouth open and her head tilt. And the memories coursed through her every being.

* * *

 _Summer grabbed hold of her younger brother as he clutched his eye. "What happened, Morty?" The eight year old asked in sympathy._

 _Still, her five year old brother would not stop whimpering and whining and clutching at his eye._

 _With a small growl, she grabbed her brother's hand, the one he used as a cover, and yanked it away, eliciting a small gasp and cry._

" _Morty, what happened to your eye? Who did this?"_

 _The boy lifted his finger, pointing in the vast space of the elementary school play yard and directly toward a boy who stood laughing with a few others._

 _Each boy took a turn throwing the ball and Summer's eyes narrowed._

" _He hit me in the face and took my ball." Morty stated, in a way almost mischievously. As if he knew what Summer would do._

 _She recognized the bully. His name was Frank and he was in her class. He was never mean to her, but to even look at her baby brother wrong was a sin._

 _Standing with her hands tightened, she walked away. "Wait here, Morty."_

 _She stood behind Frank in a flash and tapped his shoulder. He stared and smiled. "What's up, Summer?"_

" _Give me back my brother's ball." She muttered with menace._

 _His eyebrows raised. "What?"_

 _She grit her teeth. "I said give me back my brother's ball. You hit him and took it."_

 _The eight year olds stared each other down for some time. Eventually the bully smirked. "No-"_

 _She punched him as soon as she heard no. And she kept punching. Until he stumbled backward. Until Morty's ball flew from his hands. Until her third grade teacher pulled her off of him._

 _Later, Summer, Frank, and Morty would be sent home early._

" _There was a better way you should have handled that situation, sweetie." her father softly scolded as he strapped both his children in. "Violence solves nothing."_

 _She glanced at her little brother, snuggled against her, ball held tight against his stomach, a small smile on his face, and not a care about the bruise on his face._

" _Love you, Summer." He mumbled under his breath._

 _Their father was still talking. "Remember kids, violence solves nothing."_

 _But with Morty so happy, she begged to differ. "Yeah it does."_

 _Jerry just sighed._

* * *

Aiden turned his head too. "What's wrong?"

 _Everything,_ she wanted to say. But even that felt wrong.

"I…I have to go." She said standing.

"Wait...what? You can't go. There's a swarm of zombies that way. You can't go."

Aiden walked forward, but Summer on instinct raised her pistol. They stared shocked at one another, before she sighed and lowered the gun.

"I'm sorry. I just….my brother loves me and I'm selfish if I leave him."

Aiden nodded softly. "I apologise. It's your life. Do what you want. But you're still wounded, and I don't want you dying on me."

Still, she turned around. "I'm sorry, Aide-ahh." He'd tackled her, effortlessly tying her hands behind her back.

"What are you doing?"

All in one motion, Aiden's blue hair turned brown, and his eyes, once soft, grew narrow. When he spoke, his voice wasn't soothing.

"I told you, Summer. You can't go." He stood smiling. "I haven't eaten in a long time. Last guy from earth was too scrawny, but you...good, you must be delicious."

Summer gasped, trying to move her hands. "You're going to eat me?"

The alien smirked. "Not yet. I kind of like you. I'm going to break you first."

He raised his foot and for a full half-minute, she watched it come downward at a speed that constricted her throat so that she could hardly draw breath.

She didn't feel when his boot slammed on her face. She was already out.

* * *

Rick frowned as he crouched down, gathering the parts of Summer's portal gun.

While Scaunchy and Birdperdon were busy killing Planet Thry's ancient species, he spoke.

"This is where she must have dropped her portal gun. And I see some droplets of blood. Maybe from her arm. You think you can track this, Scaunchy?"

The zombies ceased for some time. "Birdperson feels that tracking will not be necessary."

He stood over a spot on the ashes. A dent trail.

Rick grimaced, attempting to ignore how his stomach dropped. "Someone must have dragged her. About two hours ago."

"Well, I hope it was someone squanch enough to heal her."

Birdperson's wings spread out. "Get on. Birdperson will follow the trail while flying."

And they set off, Rick praying that his baby girl was still in one piece.

But she wasn't. When they had reached a small cabin, the only sound was screaming.

A dark voice within the cabin laughed. "Calm down, Summer. This'll be quick. I'm not the kind of thing to touch people sexually. I just needed your clothes off because it's easier to cut you that way."

"No please. Please don't." A loud smash and Summer's own screaming echoed through the vicinity.

It tore through Rick like a great shard of glass. It was desperate, terrified... human. And he inhaled sharply, kicking the door in.

The reason Summer had screamed was because her kidnapper had smashed her fingers with a hammer.

But by the looks of it, he did more. He'd stabbed her in the stomach more than once. The leg that he didn't tie down was twisted in the most disgusting way. Her was was bloody and bruised up.

And to worsen the feeling in his stomach, this piece of shit had stripped Summer from head to toe, leaving her underwear on.

"You motherfucker." with his vision blurred, he shot the thing in it's head. It didn't die quickly, however. It turned.

It almost resembled a werewolf. His teeth, eerily incandescent, emitted a strange blue glow and were as sharp as a fine diamond sword. His skin was mostly scar tissue and he shivered. What fur there had been was tufty and thin, providing no protection to the elements at all. His eyes bulged and Rick shot him again and again and again and again. He didn't stop until he had no bullets.

And with it gone, he dropped the pistol, running over to the weeping Summer and untying her.

"Search the rest of the cabin." He told his friends. But really, he needed time with his granddaughter. And they knew that.

While he untied her, Summer said nothing. She didn't move a muscle. Grabbing her off the makeshift bed, the man covered her in his own lab coat, not caring if it got bloody.

With diligence and concern for her, he grabbed his pure serum, applying it to her face, stomach, leg, arms, and crushed hand.

He watched it all clear and heal, before wrapping her all the way in the coat. "Summer." He whispered.

Before she could apologize, he fell back a bit when she hugged around his neck and cried.

And he didn't want to stop her. He didn't want her to see that he was crying too.

And it really hurt. How much Summer wanted to die. How much she hated herself.

He cried as if the ferocity of it might bring her to loving herself; as if by the sheer force of his grief the memories would be undone.

Summer was was his, his only light and the world tried to kill her. Even Scaunchy and Birdperdon halted in another room as they heard his crying.

Rick rocked her back and forth, hoping that she would understand.

* * *

"I'm not going back." Summer whispered as Rick opened a portal for Scaunchy and Birdperdon. She watched them leave to their respective locations. "I can't go back."

Rick turned to her, his eyes red and tired. "What?"

Still, she shook her head. "No one's going to miss me, I'm a burden, grandpa."

Rick sighed. "Don't be stupid. No matter how much they talk shit, your parents love you. Morty isn't even loyal to them as much as he is you. You're a good to the kid."

"And you? Would you miss me if I killed myself or ran off?"

"I came didn't I? Summer, I don't know how to _not_ miss you. It's pretty shitty that you're paying rent in my heart, so don't push it."

Once more her tears gathered and she put her head down. "You don't love me, grandpa. I remember you loving. You loved Unity and you pushed Morty and I away. For her. So you can't say that."

The older man sat next to his granddaughter. "I don't think you could understand. All the love I had in this world went to you. I can't do anything without wondering what you're doing. I can't stop worrying about you. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Rick's don't do _love_. Everytime you bring home an academic award. Everytime you finish my sentences about something intelligent. Everytime you tell a stupid joke and I laugh. I fill with pride, but I say to myself 'Ricks don't do love.' and it doesn't even work."

They remained in silence for some time. Summer thinking things over and Rick pitying himself.

"I hate this. Each and everyday, you scare me, Summer."

"I know. I'm reckless." Referring to running away and her cuts.

"That's not it."

"Why then?"

"Because I can tell you things I can't even tell myself."

Summer looked away. "I love my parents so much that I'll blame myself for their problems."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And that's the problem."

Rick smiled. "That a girl." And he did something that was more surprising than Summer realizing.

He hugged her. Because he loved her so much that he didn't want her to go.

* * *

They had propped Morty up in his room, fearing that if the boy spit up, he'd choke. Since the morning, he sat frozen and in shock, neither his parents or Rick understanding why.

A soft knock on his door didn't even break his stupor. Until whoever it was outside spoke. "Can I come in, Morty?"

Without a moment of hesitation, he stood, opening the door. For a while, she stared at him and he at her.

"Summer?"

"Yeah. Sorry I bailed. I had to find something really important."

"And did you find it?" He asked. "You won't- you're not leaving again?"

"I found it… so Nah..-oof." she was interrupted by Morty jumping on her.

Down the hall, Rick watched the scene unfold with a small smile. He was glad she'd decided to come back too. Maybe if she didn't, he wouldn't either.

Maybe if she didn't, Morty would still be frozen.

There were thousands of maybe. But there was one thing he knew.

If Summer didn't come back, he'd have died.

* * *

Later that night, Rick stayed busy in his garage beneath his space cruiser as Summer handed him tools and talked about school.

"And I was so angry that she kissed Janice's boyfriend and slept with him. I asked her why and she was like 'I only needed to get laid.'"

"Hand me the screwdriver." Rick snorted out.

The teen did so, but still continued. "And I was like 'the only way you'll get laid is by crawling up a chicken's ass and waiting.' which is super witty."

"What'd she say?"

"She tried talking, but I stopped her. I said 'save your breath. You'll need that to blow your next date.'"

Summer giggled at the end of her high school story, making Rick move from beneath his ride.

He'd meant what he said before on Thry. All the love he held in the world, he gave to her. The love he held for Beth when she was younger disappeared when he saw her again. So he gave it to Summer.

His love for his ex wife.

His love for science.

All of it. He gave it to Summer.

She was a jewel. She was like a diamond. Gleaming as bright as the sun's rays lighting the ocean at dawn; radiant and shining; reigning supreme amongst all jewels and gems, her perfect features scorning those of others. The diamond was, after all, the gem of royalty.

And that's what she was.

Summer turned her head in confusion. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing, but….I-I meant what I said, Summer. Every word. So don't go giving up on me, okay."

The girl's eyes filled with tears as her daymare filled her memory. Looking away, she nodded. "Whatever."

"It's not whatever, Summer. I'm serious. I need you to know that. I can't let you hurt yourself. I won't live with myself knowing I had the power to stop it. So it's not whatever. So promise me you won't try to hurt yourself again. Promise me you'll learn to love yourself as much as I love you.

I swore I wouldn't leave you once, Summer."

"Okay...okay. I get it."

"Promise me." He demanded after the silence.

Summer crouched beside him. Grabbing his hand, she interlocked her pinky finger with his own pale one. She looked at him. "I promise."

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. That took me so long to write because of writer's block. Uuggh. Anyway, please feel free to review. And thanks again.**


	8. A Rick of a Kind

**A Rick of a Kind**

 **Hello, lovlies. So, just going to be doing a little spin on something one of you wanted to see. Hehe. You know who you are. Anyway, here we go.**

Summer ruffled her brother's hair as she sat at the table. Her mother and grandpa were discussing something about flying saucer pancakes, which seemed oddly similar to the regular ones.

Her father was playing that stupid game with a stupid meaning and Morty twisted his fork in the middle of the pancake like always.

It was just the same and she smiled to herself as she sat down.

Nothing had changed since yesterday, nothing that real anyhow. She still sunk in depression and the pain was still digging holes in a backyard that she guessed now belonged to the her.

But still, she was happy. For the first time in a long time, her customary cautious grin exploded into a radiant smile that she had never worn before, not even as a small girl.

Everything was going to be alright now, she had grandpa Rick and he had her. They were a team. They had been since he came back and no one could separate them, for better or worse. She would never fear the darkness again because she would never be alone to face it.

She laughed at something silly Morty had told her, but tensed after a while.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked, something he openly asked now to make sure she'd never leave again.

Everyone looked at her now. Her father's mindless game kept bringing the balloons. Her mother ceased in pouring syrup. And Rick's fork of goodness halted inches away from his mouth.

Summer tilted her head in confusion. "Someone's coming. Or something. I can feel it."

And just as the words fiddled from her lips and tickled everyone else's minds, a portal opened by the door.

Three Ricks walked out in guard attire.

"Rick Sanchez of earth dimension C-137, you are under arrest for crimes against alternate Ricks by the authority of the trans-dimensional council of Ricks."

Her father, who always needed to just _be,_ stood in a heap. "Hey! What the heck?!"

The head Rick pointed. "Neutralize the Jerry."

"Wait! No! I'll-"

But they didn't listen. Jerry froze in his position as a block of ice, shimmering like hope on a barren field, embraced his entire body.

"Jerry!"

"Dad!"

Rick stood in mild annoyance. "Everybody, relax. If I know these a-holes, and I am these a-holes, they just want to haul me to their stupid clubhouse and waste my time with a bunch of questions. Let's get it over with."

"Bring his Morty."

There was a tense silence as one of the Ricks pulled out a paper. "Ugh…"

The head Rick rolled his eyes. "What- _eurp-_ is it?"

"Sir, we're being ordered to bring his _Summer._ That's who goes on the adventures with him."

And the oddest thing happened. The head Rick looked to Summer with so much confusion, they'd think the world would stop being called Earth.

"Summer?" He questioned.

As if the very idea of it were something perplexingly new. The Rick's mouth was pursed but slightly open and loose. His eyes were fixed as if he was looking at something a yard behind Summer's head. After some time, he blinked and refocused.

"Huh...well hell, bring the Summer." He ordered.

* * *

Summer stared in awe as all different kinds of her grandpa walked past. "Woah, grandpa, what is this?"

"The Citadel of Ricks. It's the secret headquarters for the council of Ricks."

"Council of Ricks?"

"As you know, Sum, I've got a lot of enemies in the universe that consider my genius a threat - galactic terrorists, a few sub-galactic dictators, most of the entire intergalactic government. Wherever you find people with heads up their asses, someone wants a piece of your grandpa, and a lot of versions of me on different timelines had the same problem, so a few thousand versions of me had the ingenious idea of banding together like a herd of cattle or a school of fish or those people who answer questions on yahoo! Answers."

Summer snorted, covering her mouth when Rick smiled down at her. "Well, I think that's pretty stupid."

"You and me both, baby."

When they continued on into a large room, Summer gasped. "Why the hair?" She questioned, regarding the row of Ricks sitting high up.

Rick only hummed softly in response as he focused on glaring at the row of dicks.

"Bring up the holograms. 27 Ricks brutally murdered in their own timelines- an unprecedented Rick-icidal epidemic. What say you, earth Rick C-137?"

"You think I did this? Why am I the first Rick you pull in every time a Rick stubs his toe?"

"You have a history of non-cooperation with the council."

"Yeah, so does the scientist formerly known as Rick. W-w-w-w-w-why isn't he here in handcuffs?"

"Because he's dead, too! Who else would you have us question? You fit the profile. Of all the Ricks in the central finite curve, you're the malcontent, the rogue."

"I'm the Rick, and so were the rest of you before you formed this stupid alliance. You wanted to be safe from the government, so you became a stupid government. That makes every Rick here less Rick than me. Yeah, murmur it up, d-bags. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got pancakes back home with syrup on top of them."

"Scan his portal gun!"

"Oh, come on. Don't look at another man's portal-gun history. We- _eurp-_ we all go to weird places."

"Yes, but it appears you alone have been going to the exact timelines and locations in which the murders occurred."

"What?! That's Rick-diculous! I'm obviously being set up."

"Earth Rick C-137, the council of Ricks sentences you to the machine of unspeakable doom, which swaps your conscious and unconscious minds, rendering your fantasies pointless while everything you've known becomes impossible to grasp. Also, every 10 seconds, it stabs your balls."

Summer growled and moved ahead, glaring hard at the surprised council. "No. If you think my grandpa is going to bow down to you assholes, maybe he is more Rick than you all."

The silence gnawed at every occupant of the room. Even Rick C-137 himself. It was one thing for a Morty to defy the Rick's words. But a Summer? Lower than a Morty in Rick's eyes, Summer existed in 4000 realities compared to billions. A Summer needed a hell of a lot of balls to stand up to any Rick.

Rick Prime was the first to break his own stupor. With the most menacing snarl, he leaned forward, his look matching Summer's. "And who do you think will let your grandfather and now you leave after that disrespectful comment?"

Summer blew her nails dry, as if not interested in the threat. "This isn't a who will let us situation. The question is 'who the hell is going to stop us?'"

All around, loud murmurs rose as they contemplated the bravery of Summer C-137. Rick put his head down with a small smirk. _That a girl,_ he thought.

"Quiet." Rick Prime demanded. When they did not listen, he slammed his fist down. "Quiet! Summer C-137, you must have a pair. But, a word of advice. A Summer is never strong enough to withstand any storm."

Summer smirked. "I am the storm."

The loud murmurs once more echoed throughout the hall, giving Summer a chance to grab her portal gun and get her grandfather away.

* * *

Rick watched the sweat trickle down his granddaughter's forehead as they sat at the table of an alternate dimension's restaurant.

"That'll keep them busy for a while." She murmured, looking at the menu.

Rick nearly smiled proudly, but a thought skimmed his mind. "It won't. Maybe for twenty minutes, but…"

"But what?"

"I mean, it's easy to find me since I have you. Mortys are there to counter a Rick's genius, but Summer, you're like me, so we're easier to detect."

Summer hummed. "Those guys were wrong, right? You wouldn't kill yourselves?"

"Of course not, Summer. How could that profit me? But someone out there is killing Ricks, and the council ain't gonna stop thinking it's me until we clear our names- _eurp_ \- by finding the real Rick-killer."

"Well we can't go home. The house is probably swarming with Rick's now."

Rick nodded. "They'll mess with your dumb dad for some time before they get serious."

A waiter walked over, a smile on his face, asking them what they would like. While Summer shook her head, her thoughts filling, Rick spoke up.

"Phones à la clams and phonesghetti with phone balls."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, more phone sticks, please."

"Right away, sir."

The two sat quiet for some time before Summer opened her mouth, but clamped it shut again.

Rick noticed, choosing to watch her closely now before her thoughts ran to self-hatred and pity again. "What's wrong?"

"Noth-"

"Bullshit, Sum. Tell me what's wrong now."

The teen sighed. "Why did you pick me?"

His brows furrowed. "What?"

"I mean. I felt like I didn't belong in that Citadel. Everywhere I turned there were Ricks and Mortys. No Summer's though. It just felt wrong."

For fear of showing his true emotion toward her, Rick chose to stay quiet.

But still, the girl edged on. "You basically said Morty's a camouflage for you. With me, that isn't real. Do you _like_ being in danger?"

"No." He spoke defensively.

"All I am is some idiot teen that has no business being in the Citadel. So why put me through the humiliation?"

Before Rick opened his mouth, Summer froze. The way she did in the morning. "They're coming again. I can feel it. We have to go."

Both stood quickly and left the restaurant.

* * *

Rick checked his tracking device. "Yes! We- we got em, Summer. We found the real killer."

When she said nothing, Rick turned his head, finding her with a stubborn look upon her face.

"Are you seriously not talking to me because I chose you over your brother? It's pretty egotistical of you to make this about you."

With a hard glare, Summer put her fists to her side. "It's not that. It's the reason. Why can't you just tell- holy shit?"

Rick followed her eyes, fixated on a large done with hundreds of Mortys on them.

The girl moved back, her eyes filling up. "Oh, God! Why would somebody do this? It's horrible!"

"Well, one Morty's enough to hide from the bureaucrats, but you get- _eurp-_ you get a whole matrix of Mortys and put them in agonizing pain, that creates a pattern that can hide even from other Ricks. I fiddled with a concept like this once."

Summer glared at him.

"On paper, Summer. On paper. I wouldn't do this. It's barbaric overkill. I mean, you could accomplish the same result with, like, five Mortys and a jumper cable. Which I also wouldn't do! I'm just saying, it's bad craftsmanship."

Summer sighed. "Just come on." They walked closer to the dome shaped building, Summer trying hard not to look at either Rick or the Mortys.

On one hand, she felt instinctively pitiful for the Mortys. To just be used as camouflages for the most intelligent beings in the multiverse was sad. This was her brother, the most important thing in her life. And it sucked.

On another hand, she felt instinctively self pitiful. Every higher deity knew she loved her brother, but they also knew he could get annoying. And that one flaw was probably why her grandpa chose her. It didn't matter that the bureaucracy could find him because _she_ would help him get away. She was there to save him. Either from shit he didn't want or shit that wanted him.

And that made her nothing more than an assistant.

It stung like fuck.

"Well, if it isn't Rick C-137. And his famous Summer, now known as 'the one who roars.'" The girl turned to find another Rick by the door, this one with dark eye bags and a scar going through his mouth vertically.

The scar was broad and rough. Whatever had caused the old wound was blunt and the injury must have never been stitched or treated.

Unlike his scar, the scars on Summer's wrists were pink, shiny, and rubbery.

His was a new milky white, going on purple. It was shocking. And it must have been a common occurrence because the Evil Rick smirked, running his fingers over the shiny river.

"Eh, you don't- _eurp-_ don't like it? It's my teacher. It taught me not to get caught next time. And it taught me to run faster and to carry a spare dagger."

Despite her shitty mood, Summer smiled softly. A Morty came near the evil Rick and grabbed hold of Summer's arm.

"I'm taking you to the Mortys."

"Whatever. My grandpa's an ass. And I can prove it mathematically."

She felt anxious to be away from any Rick, so she just nodded and let herself be dragged, feeling her grandfather's eyes on her head all the while.

However, when she was pushed into a large room with many Mortys, the girl sighed, sinking to the floor.

* * *

He felt betrayed. And then again. He understood why. For a long time, maybe her whole life, Summer could be nothing but a pessimist. Nothing but a self deprecating person.

When so many Ricks have Mortys and she's the only Summer, it's instinct for her to feel like she was nothing more than a substitute.

Yeah. He felt betrayed. He always had. But for the first time ever, he felt really stupid.

His stupor was broken by his arms being strapped down to the chair he was in. Instead of asking, he just stared at the evil Rick.

"We're not so different."

"Yeah, duh!"

Evil Rick pushed a display near him. "See this right here, Rick? I crunched the numbers. I created a spectrum of all the Ricks. I listed them out from most evil to least evil. Here's where I am. And look it- _eurp-_ right here's where you are, Rick. This guy right here- super weird."

"I get it. So you want me to team up with you to take down the council of Ricks, right? Is that where you're going with this? 'Cause that's where I'd be going."

"Please. I think I'm doing pretty good on my own. I'm simply gonna download the contents of your brain and then kill you."

The Evil Rick hooked some wires up to Rick's body and began clicking various buttons on a device. "Let's see what you've got in here."

Rick glared hard as his memories appeared. Some with his ex wife. Some raising Beth. Some with Scaunchy and Birdperson.

"You've lived quite a life, Rick. It's a real shame you're not gonna be around to see it through."

Rick's eyes softened when Summer's frail cheeks appeared as a baby. And then most of the memories were focused on Summer. When she was seven. When she tried out for her 6th year volleyball team. When she read books to a very young Morty. When he gave her a portal gun. When they went for ice cream. When she accidentally walked in on him in the bathroom, her face horrified and red. When she was running toward the cruiser, killing Cronenbergs back in C-137. So many good memories of his little Summer.

Surprised to see so many memories of a Summer, the Evil Rick turned with a raised brow. "Holy shit, you're crying? Over a _Summer_?"

Rick blinked rapidly. "No, I'm just allergic to stubborn little shits that do good in school."

"Ugh. Pathetic. We both know that if there's any truth in the universe, it's that Ricks don't care about anyone. Summers are lower than Mortys."

* * *

Summer watched the Mortys sit with gloom. "There has to be some way we can free you all." She spoke.

One sighed. "We will find our peace in the next world."

"No." She said defiantly. Climbing high, Summer stood with her arms wide. "Listen up, everyone. My name is Summer Smith of Earth Dimension C-137. I want you all to hear me out. This isn't the time to just lay down and die. I stared death in the eyes myself. But he blinked first."

Murmurs around the room echoed on the walls like shadows on a cool shine, but Summer spoke more.

"You guys are Mortys, damnit. The most important thing in the world to me. But because you're Mortys, you will always be too much of something to a Rick; too big, too soft, too loud, too edgy. If you round out your edges, you'll lose your edge. You can apologize for mistakes. Apologize for hurting others. But I will kill you myself self if you _ever_ apologize for being a Morty."

"That sounds like something the one true Morty would say."

"Are you a Morty in disguise?"

Summer smiled softly, putting her head down. "No. But I know my Morty would say the same thing. Now let's fight. I have two pistols the Citadel didn't confiscate."

* * *

"Fuck, you must be less Rick than anyone. Crying? Over a Summer?"

"Hey, fuck you, pal. I don't cry."

A loud slam cut their debate off and both Ricks watched Summer point both her pistols at the Evil Rick.

He smirked at her. "Why don't you go and-and surrender your weapons?"

"Come and take them." She muttered.

"You won't kill me."

Summer nodded, moving to the side as the Mortys ran in. "Yeah, but they will."

As Evil Rick was seemingly devoured by the captive Mortys, he screamed nonsense at them.

Rick smiled widely at Summer. "Oh thank you, Summer. Hurry and get me out of here."

She did not smile, only began to free him with no emotion. "It's my, job anyway."

"Summer." He began, but she raised her hand as if to say stop. And he was so smitten, he did stop.

"Just call someone so we can go."

It took the guard Ricks about ten minutes to reach their location and begin checking out the now dead and bruised evil Rick.

Summer stared as the now free Mortys began moving away.

"What's going to happen to all these Mortys?"

A Rick shrugged. "They'll go back to their families, attend school regularly, play video games, date girls. Poor little rickless bastards."

There was a small gasp that ended the sad conversation and everyone turned their attention to the Ricks examining the murderer.

Beneath Evil Rick's eye was a device, beeping a vibrant color. "I've seen this technology before. This Rick was being controlled remotely - puppeteered by somebody else. This here is the receiver."

C-137 stepped forward. "Yeah, but where's the transmitter?"

In the distance, Summer watched Evil Morty remove his eye patch. He pulled what seemed to be the transmitter from his eye and stomped on it.

And in that moment, he looked at Summer and she at him. With a simple smirk, she nodded once. He nodded too, his chin touching his chest in thanks.

"I have no idea." She whispered.

* * *

On the way home from the Citadel, Summer kept her arms crossed and her mouth shut.

With a heavy sigh, Rick pulled a strand of hair from his head. "Do me a favor and grab the memory gun from the glove compartment, would you?"

"Wh-"

"Just do it, Summer. Damnit."

Stricken, the teen complied with a rosy blush. This didn't, however, stop her from completing the action with the emblem of teenage attitude.

"What do you want with it?" She almost hissed.

Rick only handed her his blue strand and waited as she placed it in.

"Rick Sanchez; Earth Dimension C-137; age 56; status, Alive. Showing Rick's Memories from…"

"Sixteen years ago, Mid-day, Smith Residence." He spoke for her.

The same image appeared from all the other times he'd requested this memory.

Summer watched Rick pick up the tiny baby, her ginger tufts sticking every which way.

"Is that…."

"That's you, Summer."

Summer nearly smiled when her small self grabbed hold of Rick's shirt. She listened intently for any words.

 _My Beth kept you and the loser and she seems successful. Maybe that was the right thing to do? So what do you say, huh? Rick and Summer for one hundred years?_

And Rick continued to turn the dial on the memory gun, showing Summer all kinds of memories, even the most recent.

When they finally made it to the present, Summer turned the device off.

"I don't know how many times you're going to make me show how much you mean to me. I've risked my life for you, cried for you, killed for you. So that should damn well be enough. But you're Summer. And I knew it wouldn't be either. But you need to understand now, I am afraid."

"Huh?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid because I care about you more than anything and anyone else. Afraid because I care about you more than myself. Afraid of losing you. It's so un-Rick-like to even think about- _eurp-_ shit like this. But you're Summer. My little Summer. So I _have_ to break the rules for you. Understand that?"

Summer still sat frozen, trying to process all this new information.

"Do you understand that, Summer?"

With a knowing smirk, one that made him want to roll his eyes and punish himself, Summer nodded. "Understood, Grandpa."

"Good. You're not a backup plan, Summer. You never were. When I was feeding you when you were one, you grabbed hold of me tightly, trying to tell me something. But you saved my life, Summer. That's why I chose you. And as a one of a kind Rick, I think I'd always choose you. In a hundred lifetimes. In a hundred worlds. In any version of reality. I'd find you and choose you."

 **Sorry it's late guys. Geez. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this. And I'll get back to writing.**


	9. The Ricklife Chose Me

**The Ricklife Chose Me**

 **Hello, lovelies. Good to see you're reading. Hehe. Here we go.**

Her feet pounded the tarmac with all the grace of a sack of wet concrete; covered the uneven paving stones with a great lolloping gait that suggested her ankles were made of tightly coiled springs rather than the sinew and bone.

Her rasping throat was as parched as a dead lizard in the desert sun. Her head bobbed loosely from side to side with each footfall and her eyes felt heavy in their sockets.

Each one of her mighty strides were worth at least two of Rick's. She was ahead of him. And given the situation, that was a good thing.

The Grither creature behind them rushed on all fours, slimy mucus running off its body as it made a trail. Much like a lion, and a lot less delicate, it roared.

The sound was nothing like human speech or bird song, but more of a raw sound that started deep within its body and was projected into the air with so much force that it would be heard for miles around.

Rick laughed when Summer yelled in victory. "Just keep going, Summer!" He yelled. "He'll be within our range in less than a minute! All Morty needs to do is keep that flag up. And we'll have-"

A cry of help ceased his proposal. And it wasn't just any cry. Any cry wouldn't have made Summer cease all running.

The Grither, that must have kept its sights on Summer, tried pouncing on her. However the girl ducked in time to lift the creature slightly and flip him, crushing his tail bone.

She stood high with a large look of worry. "Morty…" she muttered. And then took off running again.

Another cry of help sent Rick after her. "Summer,here!"

Still sprinting, she turned with her arm already out. When he threw the pistol, she caught it with ease and Morty screamed again.

"Morty!"

When the screams got closer, both Rick and Summer could see Morty running in circles with a calling banner; a Grither right on his tail.

"It's focused on the banner, Summer. Quick, take him out."

She fell to a knee and aimed without hesitation. It took three metal bullets, filled with copper, to take out the Grither.

Summer sighed when it fell flat, skidding across Blantinop's surface with a heated hiss. "You alright, Morty?"

The boy in question had fallen just before the Grither got to him. With another yelp, he scrambled to his feet and ran toward them. "That kind of- it kind of bothered me you know, but I'm alright."

"Good."

Rick walked around the now dead Grither, it's ass sticking in the air and chin sticking in the dirt. It wasn't half the size as the one chasing Summer.

"H-he better be alright. We just missed half of our product because of his bitchy scream!"

Morty rubbed his arm in an embarrassed manner and Summer rolled her eyes at their grandpa. "It's fine. We'll just go get another one."

"We don't have time. Your parents- _eurp-_ are going on that stupid shipwreck."

Summer rolled the Grither over upon its back. Pulling out a dagger knife, the teen pointed upward. "Morty, what is that?"

"Aww geez, what is it now?" As her brother kept his eyes on the green sky, Summer cut the Grither open in one motion.

Out of its belly came a liquid with no distinct colors, but a vast many. A rainbow.

Rick's eyes widened and he too crouched down when Morty did. Summer just nodded with a smile. "I've been researching this for months now."

"Oh, boy. These you know these things are really ugly. How how come they have this pretty stuff?"

Summer smirked. "This stuff, Morty, are Liquid Crystals, matter in a state which has properties between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals."

Rick nodded in recognition too. For him, this was infant shit. But Summer made it sound like rare scientific research.

"What does that mean?"

"Like a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules like totally may be oriented in a crystal-like way. They can be divided into thermotropic, lyotropic and metallotropic phases and-"

Rick stood. He almost smiled, but he scowled instead. "Okay. Let's not give your brother a brain explosion. Put the shit in your bucket for your project and let's go."

"Hmph."

* * *

Summer boredly moved around her crystal liquid as her mother and father continued to lay down rules.

Jerry pointed accusingly at Rick. "Don't blow me off. I am drawing a line, okay? Any damage to this house or these children when we get back, and no more adventures with Summer."

"Listen, you have my word as a caregiver, everything's gonna be fine. And if not, like you say, no more adventures or whatever."

Jerry nodded with approval, grabbing Beth's arm as he walked out. "Not one thing out of place. Not a single thing."

The three watched the car move down the street. After such, Summer's crystal liquid leaped from her container and splattered onto the door, making it fall with a bang and turn dark.

She grabbed her phone. "Well, we're past the point of no return. I'm going to have a party."

Morty had followed her into the kitchen, spurting off about nonsense.

"Summer, you can't have a party. Mom and dad will say something about not raising you well and they'll argue. So you'll leave again. You can't, Summer."

"This is my only chance to prove that I can be intelligent _and_ cool, Morty."

"But y-you're both already." The girl smiled softly and ruffled his hair a bit.

Rick shook his head. "I have to agree with your brother on this one. You can't have a party. Because I'm having a party, bi- _eurp-_ itch!"

"Aw. What?"

Summer shrugged. "We can throw one together. This is my chance to gain some footing with the cool kids."

"That's why you party? Boy, you really are 17."

"Why do you party?" She countered.

"To get wr-wriggedy wriggedy wrecked, son." He messed up her hair in the process, making the teen laugh with a snort.

With hours of Summer fangirling, Morty worrying, and Rick drinking, the party was finally ready.

Because teenagers seemed to think 'fashionably late' made a difference, Rick's friends arrived first. Some half asleep, half awake, even half dead.

After answering the door for so many diverse and odd creatures, Summer trudged to the door by the fifth ring.

She opened it, coming into contact with a bird she was all too familiar with. And unexpectedly, the memories just came back.

* * *

 _Her scream pierced the morning like air raid sirens did. It echoed through the terraced cabin, making the origin hard to pinpoint. The first cries were undoubtedly terror, but not the shrill cries of a movie theatre, the cries of one with eyes locked wide and every muscle rigid. The next were of pain, garbling and pitiful._

 _When Rick found her, stripped down to her underwear, she remembered he hugged her close, despite the tremoring pain from her body. He had instantly pulled Summer into him, covering her breast with his body._

 _Bruises_

 _Bruises everywhere_

 _Broken nails. Bashed in eyes. A battered face. Bloody tears_

* * *

"Good evening, Summer. You are looking better than what you did when I last saw you."

She wished it was only her grandpa who rescued her. Because she'd had prior memories with him . With Birdperson and Squanchy, all she could remember was being rescued from that terrible day.

"Grandpa." Her voice barely audible.

Rick must have kept her voice locked in his head. Because despite the noise, despite all his friends laughing and speaking at once, despite being involved in a large group conversation, Rick looked over. "Yeah?" with one look, he nodded. "Get over here, you bird."

And he did. Summer, however stood by the door still, clutching the knob with enough power to make her hands go paler.

Somewhere in the back, she could hear her grandfather's soft murmur. "Close the- close the door, Sum. You're letting flies in this motherfucker."

Idly, she closed the door, making her way over to the couch. Now she just felt so wrong. And it wasn't just the memories. It was the future. Why, all of a sudden, did she feel sad? And hurt? And alone? She couldn't believe it. Staring around the house, she snorted in irony as one of the populars nodded in recognition toward her.

She was surrounded by more than seventy people, and yet, she felt so isolated.

Either something was going to happen or something already did. Maybe trying to fit in with kids like Brad wasn't her thing.

She was unaware of the concerned gaze her grandfather held upon her head.

She was unaware of the concerned gaze her brother held upon her head.

She was unaware that suddenly, out of the clear night sky, her face had marred into sadness.

The couch shifted beside her and she looked to her right, smiling politely at some kind of hipster tinman. "Gearhead." He introduced.

"Summer."

"I know. Your grandfather sent me over. He said you were interested in the gear wars."

Summer looked back in confusion. Rick was busy talking to Squanchy, but by his stance, she knew he'd been staring at her.

It took her five seconds to open her mouth in realization and understand that this was Rick trying to save Summer's life.

"How familiar are you with the Gear Wars, exactly?"

Her attention met Gearhead's again. "Uh... Not at all."

"Oh, boy. I envy you. The thing people don't realize about the Gear Wars is that it was never really about the gears at all…."

And then he went on for twenty minutes. Being intelligent, Summer was actually interested in the history. She needed to learn new things because knowing a lot of things got boring.

When that was finished, Gearhead went to find another listener. Summer stood, her worries forgotten for a moment.

"Summer, haven't seen you at flute practice in a while."

Someone scoffed. "Summer, don't tell me you're friends with her."

She stared at Nancy. Their whole lives, she and Nancy had been at the top of their class. So there was no choice but to know her. Even then, Nancy was pretty cool underneath the glasses and itchy ass sweaters.

And Summer opened her mouth unconsciously. And Summer said something that would be the death of her social life. And Summer blamed it on the weird feeling in her gut.

"Yeah I am. She's actually pretty cool when you get to know her."

A few girls had joined the conversation, shocked by her answer. "No way."

"Are you joking?"

"Summer's friends with a reject."

She rubbed her arm defensively. She didn't understand what the problem was. Nancy was cool. Not their kind of cool, but still cool.

Right then, Rick stepped over. "Woah, ladies. Not cool. This is a party. Everybody should be welcome."

Summer nodded, but she still felt weird.

"Oh, great. Who invited Abradolph Lincoler?"

"I'm gonna... I need some air." With that she walked out.

* * *

She remained outside on the patio. Even when she could hear a fight inside. Even when the whole house was transported into another dimension. She stayed where she was.

She couldn't go back in there. She didn't feel okay in there.

The patio door opened and closed. Her eyes flitted to the side as Nancy leaned against the fence too.

"You know.." she began. "I didn't think you'd say that, but it was pretty cool of you."

Although her next words didn't justify why she stood up for Nancy, Summer spoke them anyway because she needed to tell someone this fear, this reality.

"I think I'm supposed to die today." It was a whisper and it was weak.

They stood quiet for some time.

"Why do you think that?" she pulled out a recorder. "Is this okay? I'm studying to be a psychologist."

Summer would have laughed if she didn't feel so afraid. Always Nancy to bring school everywhere.

"It doesn't matter. I may be dead later anyway. I've seen it before. I'm smart like that. But I know how it feels when you're about to die. When I woke up this morning, I felt fear. I don't know where it came from, but it was there. And I rolled around in bed, sweating and breathing like a maniac. And then I was angry when I saw my parents kissing. So angry that they hurt me whole life. So angry about my whole life like it was my last day to live. So angry that I asked my grandpa to take me on an adventure. But my brother came with us. And that just made me guilty."

"What do you feel now?"

"Alone." She whispered. "So alone and isolated. And I just have this feeling in my stomach like it's going to be my last. And this voice in the back of my head saying 'don't worry about it, Summer Smith. You're dying today.'"

Before she could get the rest out, the patio door opened. Nancy stopped the recording and stuffed the device in her pocket.

Rick raised a brow as did Morty. "What's g- _eurp-_ going on out here?"

Summer shrugged, the feeling intensifying in her gut like fire on oil. She opened her mouth to speak, but halted, memories coming back to her.

* * *

 _Morty smiled, moving the liquid crystals. "This is really cool, Summer. I like- you know I like the colors."_

 _Summer nodded, but when she looked to him, her eyes widened. He held the liquid crystals in a jar, but his hands weren't covered by gloves. "Morty, you have to wear gloves. Any liquid get on you and sooner or later, it'll do exactly what it did to that door. Or worse."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yeah. But that's only because I haven't cleaned it up yet. Being inside a Grither makes it beautiful, but also makes it toxic. Here let me clean it."_

 _Just as Morty walked toward her, he tripped over nothing and the liquid flew out of his hands._

 _With her luck, it splattered onto her lab coat. But unbeknownst to both the siblings, the liquid had touched her hand, seeping into her pores before they noticed._

 _Morty spurted about being sorry._

" _Morty, it's okay. It only got on my coat. See?"_

 _But thirty minutes later, the feelings from before had come back._

* * *

Summer inhaled sharply. "I think…. I know how I'm going to die."

Rick's head turned to the side and he opened his mouth.

Summer exploded quietly. Just as quietly as she had come into the world. It wasn't gruesome. It wasn't fast. She exploded into some sort of rainbow dust. And small bubbles rised in the air thereafter. And it happened slowly, at least in Rick's eyes. He must have thought the planet was killing her, because he'd reached out and grabbed her shirt, just to pull her inside. But it didn't work. And Summer's face was so regretful. As if she knew whatever was killing her could have been stopped.

She was just gone. The dust disappeared and so did her clothing. And Morty fainted. And Nancy screamed. And Rick sat there, confused and broken.

It had taken all of his will and strength to get everyone out of the house after they landed on Earth. It had taken his will to freeze the world so he could clean up.

Morty woke up months later. The house was clean. His parents were frozen in stride. But, Summer was really gone.

He found Rick in the garage, stubble on his face and hair flat, working diligently on something and speaking to himself.

"But the equation doesn't work and she can't be detected."

He grabbed a black recording device and pushed a button; Summer's voice filled the void.

" _It doesn't matter. I may be dead later anyway. I've seen it before. I'm smart like that. But I know how it feels when you're about to die. When I woke up this morning, I felt fear. I don't know where it came from, but it was there. And I rolled around in bed, sweating and breathing like a maniac."_

"Is she really dead?" Morty whispered.

He wanted to faint again. He wanted to die because he wanted his sister. It hurt so much. It hurt his stomach and eyes and head and heart. Because there was no one on Earth that made Morty feel more alive, wanted, intelligent, and loved than Summer did.

When he got no response, the boy questioned again. "How long has it been?"

"Six months." Rick answered.

"So is she really d-"

"Yes, Morty! Fuck, is that what you want to hear when you wake up?! Yes, Summer is dead. Yes she exploded! Yes, she can't be detected in our multiverse! The house is clean. Go unfreeze your fucking parents and tell them she ran away!"

The boy was hurt. But if he was awake for six months, thinking about why and how his most precious person lost her life so suddenly, he was sure he'd hurt even more.

Because that was what Rick felt every fucking same day for the last six months. He was awake to get rid of everything and still deal with it. Morty knew how much Summer met to the man, so he kept his head up as Rick handed him a beeping device.

Summer wouldn't want them to mope.

* * *

Later that night, Rick shifted quietly in the garage. Now that Summer was gone, there was no reason to stay. He'd be gone by morning.

As he grabbed some papers off his desk, he smiled just a little at the pictures hanging up. Some of Beth when she was younger. Some of Morty when he was young. But most of Summer.

He laughed bitterly, brokenly at a selfie he'd taken months before. Summer was behind him, laughing with green slime all over her. That was a good day.

"Yeah." He whispered. "A good day."

His heart heavy, the man grabbed the picture, putting it into the pocket of his lab coat.

And with each second, his heart grew louder and louder. Slow still, like a heart monitor on its last moments of life, but loud.

So loud, he could hear it out of his chest. So loud that Morty, who lay down the hall on Summer's bed, muttered a "turn it off" in his sleep.

Rick looked over, confused as he stared at his portal gun flashing a bright red and giving a loud noise.

"What the hell?" He asked, closing the door and grabbing the gun.

It stopped beeping, but then there was some static and a voice. Rick collapsed, clutching his face and the countertop. His tears were leaky and he never knew a Rick could get _this_ emotional.

The static continued as Summer's small voice continued to call out. "Grandpa... I'm aliv…. I'm… another multiver…. Three point….billion years a...way."

She continued to speak and Rick continued to cry. When he spoke, she stopped. "You fucking genius." He praised in a broken manner.

* * *

Summer coughed as she trudged up the chilly mountain. In the six months that she 'died,' she'd learned so much.

The liquid crystals didn't kill her, but the tremor of exploding with it inside her felt like it. The force was enough to knock her out of the multiverse and send her into another one.

Into a multiverse where the Ricks of every dimension weren't the smartest people in the universe. Where everything was just normal.

So normal that people didn't know what the hell science was. Her portal gun was weird to them. She was weird to them. But the people were nice. They didn't bother her in the six months she'd been working to enhance her portal gun.

And when she did enhance it, the now 18 year old found out everything.

Without a space cruiser, it would take her 3.25 billion years to just make it back to the edge of her own multiverse. And then a few more months to just make it to her dimension. On top of that, her portal gun couldn't be traced over different multiverses.

The best thing to do was to create something that did.

And being smart as her grandfather, the girl did. Which was taking her to the top of this mountain, praying to nothing that it would work.

After another hour of hacking up her lungs, Summer finally made it to the top, she kneeled with the portal gun, pressing the tremor button on the side.

She just hoped like hell it got to Rick's own portal gun. After watching it light up red for a while, she leaned close and spoke.

"Grandpa Rick, it's me; Summer. I'm alive, not dead. I'm in another multiverse. And the reason you couldn't detect me is because I'm 3.25 billion years away. I've been stuck here for six months and-"

"You... genius."

At the sound of his voice, Summer ceased speaking. He sounded tired as if he'd been crying. And just the thought of it made Summer cry too.

"I thought I was going to die." She cried into the gun. "I've been stuck here."

He said nothing for a while and she wondered if the connection was broken. "Grandpa?"

"You're alive." He said. As if it were too good to be true. As if he needed to hear it again.

Summer smiled wide, tears leaking from her eyes. "I'm alive."

 **Alright, I've decided to continue this with another chapter. Summer is 3 billion fucking years away. Just finding a way to get her and then getting her is an adventure itself. So yeah. More drama and love on the way, friends.**


	10. Rick Dies at the End

**Rick Dies at the End**

 **Alright, peeps. This shit is going to get a whole LOT weirder and a whole LOT sadder. In order to understand the weirdness, you NEED to understand the events of chapter 7, With No Rick to Go.**

 **In order to understand the sadness and hurt Summer will soon feel, you guys really need to think about the title of the fic as a whole. Because there is a reason it's titled 'After Many a Summer.'**

 **ALSO, there are some heavy John Dies at the End references in here. It's all self explanatory though.**

 **This is where my take on Rick and Morty really comes into play. Ready? Here we go.**

Rick opened his eyes the next morning and groaned. The hangover felt like a balloon under his cranium, slowly being inflated, pressure mounting.

The man stood with a grimace and splashed cold water on his face. Just to feel something refreshing and instantly wish he could wash his brain free of the toxins too.

He drunk a lot. He drank when he was bitter. He drank when he angry. He drank when he was sad. He drank last night because he was happy. Summer was alive. Summer was okay and all they needed to do was find her a safe trip home.

Despite his headache, the man smiled when walking back into his room. However, he froze by the door. His dark eyes boring holes into the cover of the book that had mysteriously righted itself upon his bed.

It was Summer's book, he'd recalled. Her favorite and the first chapter book she'd ever read. _After Many a Summer Dies the Swan._

It had always been her favorite book by Aldous Huxley. She told him that it explained the story of a man who feared his impending death.

And that small notion was ironically weird because Summer _had_ feared her own impending death.

And _that_ small notion was ironically weird because it had appeared upon his bed. The man looked down the hall, but saw no one.

With a sigh, he walked forward, grabbing the book with haste and sitting down.

He opened it and smiled softly at Summer's neat 12 year old handwriting lying beneath the novel's summary.

 _If you're always scared of dying, you'll surely die. Fear's a poison; and not such a slow poison either._

Unexpectedly, the pages began flipping violently and wistfully, breezing Rick's sodden face.

"What the hell?" He muttered aloud. This whole morning had been odd so far and he prayed to no one that it was just the hangover.

But when the pages stopped at the very last of them, his eyes widened to comedic proportions. There was Summer's handwriting again. But the ink upon the pages was still new, wet like honey and dew on grass.

 _I'm still here_ , it read.

And just as the pages had been flipped, the words started writing themselves.

 _You shouldn't have touched this book with your bare hands, grandpa._

He made a motion to place the book down, but the next words scribbled onto the pages quickly, rapidly, sloppily.

 _No, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. It's me, Summer._ Although he didn't move his head, the man's eyes went around the room with a flitter.

 _You may not want to know about the things you'll read, about the my death, about Planet Thry, about the kidnap, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. Our only defense is knowledge. You just have to trust me._

The important thing is this: The drug is called liquid crystals and it gives users a window into another dimension. It takes us away.

 _For the past months, we have been living a lie. There are terrible events and a very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result. Only I can stop this. So you have to trust me. None of this is our fault._

The words vanished and Rick stood hastily. He didn't understand.

Well of course he understood because he was Rick, but What. The. Fuck?

It was Summer mysteriously writing in that book. He felt it. He knew it. But there were so many questions.

How was she able to write in the book?

Who was watching them?

How were the past months a lie?

And when the hell did she surpass him?

A ringing sound broke his thoughts and he stared at the phone shifting with vibrations on his bed.

Grabbing it, he picked up, never fearing. "Who is this? And what fucking game are you playing here?"

"Grandpa, Rick. It's me, Summer. Don't say my name out loud. They're listening."

He halted. She sounded odd and afraid as if some crazy shit was going on. And yet, there was that underlying Summer determination she always held in her. The one where she knew what to do and only death could keep her from doing it.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Have I contacted you in the past months?" She asked. "Have I contacted you any type of way since I was killed on Thry?"

 _Since I was killed on Thry._

 _Since I was killed on Thry._

 _Since I was killed on Thry._

The sentence replayed in his head like some record. What was she saying? He, Scaunchy, and Birdperson rescued her from that piece of filth on Thry.

"What ar-"

"Have I, grandpa?"

"We rescued you from Thry. You've been with me ever since."

"Shit." She hissed into the phone. "They're closer than I thought."

"I'm the smartest man ever and I- I don't know what the hell is going on." He admitted honestly.

There was an unbearable silence that made his ears sting. It was so loud and hurt so much.

"Everything is a lie, grandpa. I've been trying to tell you that since I got killed on Thry."

A pale hand rubbed across a paler forehead. "Why do you ke- _eurp-_ ep saying that? We rescued you."

"It wasn't me. I'm not sure how much of it you know, but there was some thing named Aiden that tried helping. He had your hair and Morty's eye. But it was all the federation's plan to get closer to us. He killed me. They were using that clone of me to get even closer to you."

Seven deep breaths were inhaled and few came out. "Yesterday, you called me and said you were alive."

"She wasn't real. Nothing has been real. Oh gosh." There was some shuffling and Rick was sure Summer sniffed away her tears a few times.

"What is it?"

"It's been so long since I heard your voice." The girl sobbed in broken whispers. "I tried calling you. I tried to tell you that I was stuck. I hacked into the fake Summer a few times, but they decided to kill her too so I wouldn't."

Rick sat slowly. "Sweetie please go over this again. From the beginning. When did it all start?"

"From the beginning?" She asked quietly.

"From the beginning."

* * *

 _Summer's eyes fluttered open slowly. She still felt tired, as if she hadn't slept in a very long time. Some clinking noises of glass and machinery didn't fully wake up, but it caught her attention._

 _Because then and only then did she notice the pain all over her body. The taste of blood in her mouth. The restraints around her arms and legs. The nakedness. Nothing but her panties hanging onto her._

 _She turned slowly, finding a man with a coat on by a computer. He was still as if he knew she was awake._

" _I didn't want to kill you. Not at first at least. We wanted your grandfather. But then we figured out you were just like him."_

 _Aiden turned with a disturbingly soft grin, his eyes feigning shock at the sight of her tears._

" _Summer calm down. I'm not that hideous." He grabbed a hammer and a cup of liquid crystal._

" _Please." She begged, voice broken. "Please don't hurt me."_

 _He stared at her, biting his lip. "You're going to die today. Not really, but yeah. You're going to be spiritually stuck on this world while something is going to take your place."_

" _No pleas-"_

" _Woah. Chill out. The last thing that'll hurt is this hammer to your hand. That's just to get your grandfather's attention. Once I put these crystals on you, death's gonna be easy."_

" _Plea-" her own curdling scream interrupted as he slammed the hammer down. It hurt so much, but after a while she couldn't feel anything._

 _Aiden laughed. "Calm down, Summer. This'll be quick."_

 _Because just as he dumped the entire bottle of liquid crystal on her breasts, she felt like she'd exploded. She felt like all the energy in her came forth at once. She felt like she'd died._

 _There was nothing to see in the darkness, but her hearing senses had been heightened so much that she could hear her grandpa's voice and then some gunshots._

 _And then something frightened her. The silence took over. There was nothing. She was gone._

" _Hello." She yelled. "Somebody!"_

 _The girl whimpered, crouching and covering her naked body. "Please." She whispered._

* * *

Rick melded the story in his mind for a while. All this time, whoever was after them had been using some sort of clone of Summer to get to Rick.

To get to him was one thing. To use his granddaughter's genitalia was a whole other war. If the federation were smart, they'd know he eliminated an entire race because of that.

"What was the point of killing her then?"

"Grandpa. I've been stuck on Thry for months now. If I didn't get even more intelligent, what would that make me? I hacked her, grandpa."

"You what? So you were really here? When?"

"They made my clone request an adventure for liquid crystals. They were going to make her kill you. But I hacked her. Started spurting some shit about not feeling like myself. Said I felt weird. But I made the federation _think_ that I was going to say something."

"So you just told us you knew how you were going to die?" He asked, nearly proud of her.

"Yup. And that lay them off of you. It gave me just enough time to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"That I'm alive."

"You told me yesterday."

"No I didn't. At least not the real me."

Rick sighed, rubbing his head. "How am I supposed to trust _this_ you?"

"Because I'm risking my life to keep you safe. They said if I keep helping you, they'll kill me. I'll be in touch."

With that the line went dead. After that, he really didn't know what to do. Here he was, having just been told that his granddaughter was alive and the one that had died wasn't his. Having just been told that the Federation was _this_ close to taking him out.

What was he supposed to do, though? Summer knew more at the moment. He was supposed to follow her lead, but that didn't stop this feeling in his heart.

The feelings of knowing this situation all too well. It never happened to him personally, but he'd seen it before. He was closely related to it.

Did Summer know he'd been through this before? Did she resent him for not taking action?

The memories grew too strong. Rick held his head and walked to the kitchen slowly. He could only hear silence. And he supposed that's how it was.

They'd thought Summer was happy, but once more, she ran away.

Morty was probably devastated. Rick froze by the door. "Ah...shit."

The Smith family looked up, confusion upon their faces. Beth's brow raised just a little. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"I just forgot. I really need to show Morty something.

Jerry stood, anxious. "Is it about Summer? Do you know where she is?"

Morty put his head down with sadness and Rick shook his head. "No. But I'll find her. And this time I'm goi- _eurp-_ ng to kick her ass for leaving again. Morty."

The boy followed him out into the garage. When safely inside, Rick grabbed something from the counter and pressed a small button.

One that made the birds stop flying. The cars stop moving. The humans stop breathing.

The teen's soft eyes widened. "Why'd you- why'd you freeze time again, Rick? What's going on?"

Rick sighed. "Summer's alive. And spare me the questions please because even I still have to figure this out."

"Aww geez, what?" But he was smiling and that was the only question he had.

"Supposedly, she's spiritually stuck on planet Thry and we'll have to follow her lead to get yet back. But the Galactic Federation is behind all this. They've been trying to catch me for years."

Morty seemed to mold the situation over and nod. "But if they found Summer, that means they find you. What's the point of putting my sister into all the trouble just to get to you?"

Rick's mouth went dry. That was it. The thing he'd been carrying for years on end. Something he'd hoped to bury deep down with all the people he'd so wrongly killed.

For seventeen years, it happened. And in those years, he'd watched.

The regret would come to him in quiet moments, such as when he was going to sleep or stopped to take a lunch break. It would seep to the foreground of his mind and demand to be reexamined again.

And Morty was so much like his father that Rick thought this question would come later in life. But here it was. Morty nearly got it. Morty had almost figured out the puzzle.

He could have admitted to his own crimes with guilt, hoping that Morty would understand and forgive him. He could have told Morty that it didn't matter if Summer was alive now. She would be dead by the end of the day.

She would be dead. And he move forward. Because like the tides crashing onto sand, it had happened before.

"What happened before?" Morty's question broke his stupor and he stared at the boy.

 _It happened, Morty. She'd died before. Countless times she'd died. And if she died today, happening again wouldn't matter to me anymore._

"Nothing." He muttered.

Morty watched him, seemingly unconvinced. Rick wondered if he could see through his lie. See his guilt that would soon expand tenfold. But he said nothing about it.

* * *

Summer looked up at the twin suns of planet Thry and wiped her sweaty forehead.

She was a prisoner, living the same day for months as if time had frozen. When Aiden killed, it took her just weeks to realize she wasn't really dead. Just partly.

She'd been roaming Thry for days on end, skin getting burned slightly by the heat, when she encountered a pack of Thry's zombies.

And surprisingly, they hadn't tried ripping her to shreds. In fact, they didn't even advance. Not even when she walked by.

At the moment in frozen time, she walked idly for no reason after contacting her grandfather.

"What brings you out here?"

The voice was one of the federation's workers, a frequent visitor always trying to get into her mind and find things.

She turned with a glare and he looked away from her naked body. "What happened to the coat I gave you?"

"Why are you bothering me?" She spat.

The bug sighed, choosing to walk around her before answering.

"I can admit that the Federation has done some horrible things to you, Summer, but you should know we aren't the only monsters here."

She stared incredulously. "I've done nothing wrong."

Almost sadly and with remorse, he smiled at her. "I wasn't talking about you."

He sighed. "I'll admit that we want you because you're just as much as a threat to our organization as he is, maybe even more. But you're the innocent one. For seventeen years, you've been on the receiving end of all the bads things. And your hero has done nothing about it."

"What are you talking about?"

"It isn't my place to admit another man's faults, but know this. Your grandfather's going to hear about your death soon. And he's going to move on. Because after so many years, it doesn't surprise him anymore."

Still she said nothing.

"Think about it, Summer. You can die a hero to make up for what he put you through. What he put all of you through."

Summer sighed, her chin resting against her chest as she thought it over. And then out of her mouth came the words he'd been pushing for all these months. Out of her mouth came the words of desire.

"Okay. I'll give you the codes of our safe."

"Hold that thought." He raised a finger, pulling a small notepad and pen from the back pocket of his suit. "Okay go."

"The code is my birthday and DYSFUN-5113. That's 06-21-2000 DYSFUN-5113."

The bug smirked, or Summer imagined since she couldn't exactly place his lips. "Cute. He even has your birthday in a code of one of the most desired places the federation has praised. He really does love you. And considering our history with him, it's a little surprising."

He placed a hand on his ear. "Alright guys, we got her. Pull me out."

They waited for some time before Summer yawned.

"Guys?"

"If you loved your life, I praise you. Hey, since I'm about to die, can you tell me what's going on?"

The bug laughed. "It's actually pretty funny really. This is a simulation. We aren't on Thry. We're on a federation ship. I'm hooked up to you."

"Ah. So you're across from my living corpse. And as a federation soldier, your gun would be hooked to the left side of you. Yeah, in these months, I've noticed you were left handed." She mused. With a soft smile, she waved. "Thanks."

The image around them began to tear apart and so did Summer. The bug looked around before his mouth formed an oh.

"What have you done?" He asked.

With a lot of attitude, the girl placed both hands on her hips. "Did you really think it would work? Come on, you said yourself. I'm a threat."

"Guys, it's a trick. Pull me out. Hurry up."

When the image disappeared, Summer waved one last time. The next time her eyes opened, she was sitting in a chair, wires hooked to her head.

Across from her, the visitor lay too, his eyes closed. She looked around slowly, watching a few other bugs in uniform high five each other, before her eyes finally landed on her visitor's left waistband.

The gun.

Leaning forward, she grabbed hold of it, shooting the other five occupants of the room.

"Fuck" she hissed, head swaying as she stood on legs that had been asleep for months.

Realizing she was still partially naked, the girl grabbed some clothing off a soldier and slipped out of the room.

She didn't know how long it would take to creep off the highly surveillanced ship, but there was one thought gnawing at her heart and mind.

 _What did grandpa do that was so wrong? And how has this happened before?_

* * *

They'd been waiting hours for Summer's call, just sitting in the garage of their frozen dimension for a while.

"So Summer's book was just sitting there?" Morty asked once again.

"Yup."

"Rick. You're acting weird. You're scaring me. What's going on? What happened?"

Would it matter of he told the boy. It was the least he owed him. It happened before. And Summer would be dead soon.

"I've done some things." He muttered, grabbing his flask.

Morty rubbed his arm. "I- I-I don't know, Rick. You've always done things."

"No. These things were horrible. Tell me Morty, do you remember any weird occurrences in Summer's life growing up?"

"I don't like whe-"

"Just tell me, Morty."

"Geez, I don't know. If by weird, you mean how the kids at school used to joke about her being a ghost?"

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess it's because no one could find her. She was always erased from some sort of data or something. Like our first day of school, she couldn't ride the bus because she was erased from our school records. Sometimes she missed doctor appointments because they'd be erased from record after a while. Even summer camps couldn't find her on the books."

Rick raised a hand, having heard enough. "I get it. I need to tell you something."

He and Morty stared at one another for some time before the boy's eyes widened. "You did it, didn't you? You kept erasing Summer from records."

"Only to protect her." He stood, opening a portal to a familiar dimension. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Morty followed the old man into the portal, staring at the raggedy streets and homes they went down.

They ambled through the narrow lane between several fleets of bungalows and chalets on either side cemented with an uneven stretch of glossy, varnished cobblestones.

It had been three years since Rick last visited and still the streets seemed touched by the usual hustle and bustle.

Several blotches and stains of coffee and brown colored sludge were splattered over the walls of homes. There were steep stone steps leading towards the bungalows obstructed by lofty gates made of flaking rusty iron.

"Why are we here?" Morty asked nervously.

After walking a few more yards, Rick saw a cluster of tall beech trees through which streamed of golden light pierced through the space between the leaves,and behind them stood the great white pillars made of marble glistening in the sunlight making it impossible to look directly at.

It was beautiful because he made it specially for her.

They kept walking, Morty growing even more confused.

"A cemetery…" he whispered.

Despite the stereotypes, the cemetery was peaceful. Beautiful even with the morning dew upon the grass shining like crystals on his mom's jewelry.

It was beautiful down to the geaves. They were a jumble of stones, as if the burial places were chosen by throwing the shovel in the air and digging where it landed. They sat at jaunty angles to one another, no two of them the same shape or size. The only thing that tied them together was their age, all of them over a decade.

Morty read a few of the graves but froze after seeing the same thing for the seventh time.

All of the dead in the cemetery had different deaths over the span of ten years.

But there was something that made him finally look at the guilt and grief in Rick's eyes.

There were more than one hundred graves in the jumbled cemetery. But each consisted of the same writing.

 _S.S_

 _June 21, 2000-_

 _S.S_

 _June 21, 2000-_

Morty covered his mouth, the prior memories coming back to him.

 _After Many a Summer_

 _After Many a Summer_

 _Dies the Swan_

All of these buried people were the same person; Summer.

"Rick...you knew about this gravesite?"

Rick crouched down, scraping a dark spot from one of the gravestones.

"I didn't just know about it. After I found out they were just killing her to get to me….I made it."

 **So now you understand the title. After Many a Summer deals with all the death of Summer in different dimensions. And Rick just admitted it was all his fault. However, why is there so much guilt? And now that Summer's out, what will happen? How's Morty going to take standing between one hundred graves, all of which are his sister? Review to find out. :)**


	11. After Many a Summer

**After Many a Summer**

 **TRIGGER- this chapter contains violent graphic scenes of death. In addition, there are sad references. However, it is vital that you read. Just tread carefully.**

 **IMPORTANT: this chapter is a lot better after you listen to Donny Hathaway's** _ **Someday**_ **. Not only does it explain this situation, it sets the entire theme. If some of are Walking Dead fans like me, then you know it's the song Sasha listened to in the Season 7 finale. So please, listen to it before you read.**

 **The reason this chapter is the same as the fic is because it is indeed an entire explanation. So here we go.**

 _It is a cruelty of life that a heart can keep on beating even after it has been broken in two_

* * *

Morty clasped onto the ground after Rick's statement, his knees kissing the sodden dirt with a heavy snap.

The sound was nothing compared to the weeping of his heart.

The pain was nothing compared to the dying of his heart.

He licked his dry lips, crawling with desperation over to the closest grave. Clinging to a headstone, the teen let his first mournful cry out.

It was guttural and heavy, and even the wind seemed to cry with him. Softly and silently, but it still cried with him.

"My sister." Morty cried into the stone. He coughed and hacked, clutching the grave as if the will of it would bring the Summer laying beneath that portion of dirt back.

 _S.S_

 _June 21, 2000- 2005_

She was five when they killed her. Some were teens. Most under the age of ten. But some even infants.

He wanted to kill someone and he wanted to die and he wanted to run as far and as fast as he could because she was never coming back. She had fallen off the face of the earth and she was never coming back.

Rick sighed quietly behind him, not caring about the people who peeked inside the graveyard.

Morty was crying like a child, noisily, with running snot and choking sobs and Rick was not ashamed.

Once before, it had been a few months after meeting his little Summer for the first time. Once before, he was only 39. Once before, he buried an infant Summer from earth dimension D-189. The federation had cut her throat. That's what Rick D-189 told him before he went into hiding.

Once before, he cried like that too.

Morty continued to sob on the grave. "I don't….understand. How could they do this? _Why?_ "

"It began three months after I found out Beth had Summer. I watched it happen Morty. I saw it all the deaths. I saw the staged robberies. I saw the executions. I saw the hangings. I saw the rape. I saw the torture. I saw the kidnappings. I saw it. And the only thing I did… the _only_ thing I did was protect my own Summer."

* * *

" _What do you mean she was kidnapped?" Rick questioned his E-163 counterpart._

 _E-163 shrugged noncommittally. It was as if the very idea of the problem wasn't a bother to him. "I went to che- eurp- on Beth and I saw her crying to that loser. I guess they just came and got her."_

 _He lifted his drink and took a long sip. "I don't know. After five of em were already killed, I know it was the Federation that took her. Had to get out of there."_

 _Rick stared at the man. After five years of it happening, he'd seen it all. Another Summer went missing from the Smith family. It seemed the Federation wanted the Ricks so badly, they resorted to killing their granddaughter's to get them._

 _An image of a small girl's body by a riverbank in France flashed before him and he sat down his drink and stood. "Later."_

 _E-163 raised his arms in a 'what?' position. And the question manifested from his mouth. "We just started this. You have a bedtime you're not telling me about?"_

 _They stared for a while before Rick shook his head. "I don't know...doesn't it bother- eurp- you?"_

" _What?"_

" _The fact that these dipshits are killing Summers for their own benefit? It's bad enough that they're Summer, but it's even worse when you consider the ages and causes of death."_

 _A silence beheld them in a silky embrace before E-163 raised his glass with a goofy laugh. "Hahaha. You motherfucker. You always get me. I mean what Rick would even care about the baby that ruined his daughter's life?"_

 _But he never saw the way those federation bugs hung her. Never saw the way they would bash her head after asking so many questions. Never saw the disturbing things they did with her dead body._

 _He never had to collect pieces of a five year old and bury her. He never had to clean up her blood from a Smith residence when the federation came in at night, did their dues, and ran._

 _He never met Summer when she was an infant. Never let her have the chance to save him and think about why he should give all the love he held to her._

 _Rick knew this, but awkwardly he laughed with the idiot. "Yeah. Sure. I still need to go. So I'll see you around."_

 _ **AMAS**_

 _The conversation took him to E-163, where he spent all day searching for the little girl and the federation soldiers who kidnapped her._

 _Even though they kidnapped her, they didn't go far. No one would care anyway. Rick found the bugs speaking to her seven miles from her home._

 _They sat by a pond, the little girl on a rock and the bugs on the grass. Despite being taken and despite the things he'd seen before, the little girl was smiling, telling the bugs a ridiculous story._

 _She lifted her arms up. "And then she jumped up up up." The soldiers laughed, earning a satisfied smile from Summer._

" _Summer, we need to ask you something."_

" _Hm. Otay."_

" _How old are you?"_

 _She gasped, smile wide. "I'm four and a half." And despite that, three of her little fingers were raised._

" _Okay. So you must be smart enough to answer a really big question."_

" _Mommy says I'm smart and pwetty."_

" _Have you seen your grandpa Rick in a while?"_

 _Summer's head tilted in confusion and Rick willed her to lie. To just nod and say her grandpa had been around._

" _Who tis Wick? I don't know-"_

 _The bullet that silenced her had come into the world through a suppressor. It was silent and made her fall back with as much grace as the daisies that seduced the wind._

 _The federation soldiers looked around and left quietly, getting into their ship and already speaking about the mission._

 _Rick walked over to the still twitching body, nearly gasping as her beady eyes skimmed his body._

 _The bullet had went straight through the middle of her chest, only grazing her heart._

 _Rick's eyes filled and he crouched, lifting her head upon his lap so that she would not suffocate._

 _Fast dying was only slightly better than slow choking. The girl coughed a little, clutching on to Rick's white coat, not understanding the situation._

" _Shh." He muttered, grabbing her hand._

" _I'm going to see the ponies?"_

 _It took a second for him to comprehend her question, but he nodded with a smile, trying to comfort her in her last moments._

" _Of course you are. That's the first place you'll go. There are pink ones. Blue. Orange. Green."_

" _I wike purple." She whispered, smiling at the sky._

 _Rick's heart broke and he sobbed out a soft whine. "Whatever you like, you'll get. The purple ponies are the best."_

" _And I can play on pony?"_

 _Rick cried, letting out a small laugh. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead. "Of course you can, sweetheart." She did not ask more, but she seemed satisfied._

 _If the small smile upon her dying face was anything to go by._

* * *

Morty listened to the story, long pass the point of crying now. He couldn't imagine how Rick felt over sixteen years.

Burying his precious person everytime she was brutally murdered. He imagined it to be a barren field of lost love. But having to walk that field for years, all the while containing his emotions that shattered him.

And when Morty weeped again, he didn't cry because he felt like it. But for Rick, who couldn't.

"I've always had a special connection to all of these Summer's. Even if some of them were dead on arrival. I cleaned them. I buried them. But…"

The man dropped to his knees then. Because the mere thought of losing his own made his knees give out. Morty watched him bury his head in his hands.

"If...if I'd lost my own Summer, I wouldn't be able to continue. I'd….don't judge me… Morty, there is no one else in this universe that I love as much as I love Summer. And I'm sorry. I try to love your mom. I try to love you too. And I do. Just not as much as I love..."

When the sobbing had died down, the overall atmosphere remained solemn. It was of course a grave of Summers.

The girl who literally had the power and mind to be anything she wanted. The girl who knew what she wanted and how to get there. It didn't matter if she ever became a scientist. It didn't matter if she ever became a dancer. She'd make her job look like one of a kind.

The mere thought of his own sister made Morty lift his head, his tear soaked eyes lapping waves over Rick's.

"Some of these Summers died when they were young."

"That's true." Rick remembered.

"I don't know much about them, but there's one thing I'm sure of. No matter the dimension, a Morty is always close to his sister. What happened to-"

Rick inhaled sharply, interrupting the boy. He knew the question. He knew the answer. "There was a program created for the Mortys who couldn't function. The ones that were old enough to remember their sister. About 90 of em."

Morty stood determined. "Take me there."

* * *

Summer sighed as she searched the small compartment for clues.

Still in the part of the ship where she'd been tested upon, the girl hopped over the federation bodies.

Idly not paying attention, she slid in some slime by one of the bug's' head. "Aww shit. Gross." She muttered.

Hey eyes borderlined wonderment and disgust as she reached down to properly examine the substance.

And right then, he eyes flashed over a white rectangular object beneath. With a small grin, the girl reached her hand into the slime and grabbed the key card.

"It ain't so bad." She muttered, standing. By her side was a dark glass that showed her entire figure.

It made her grimace. While the standard federation wear wasn't so bad- black armor and black vest much like the attire of Rick's famous customer Krombopulos Michael-, it was her face that looked bad.

Sunken in; bruised eye and lip; in addition, they had taken her hair out of it signature ponytail, leaving wild ginger locks to breeze freely.

Summer smirked. The best thing about her image were the two federation guns she held in her hand.

Unearthly weapons never seemed to run out of bullets or charge.

Summer inhaled and exhaled deeply, her confidence as high as the sun in relation to an ant on dirt.

If there was one thing she knew, she was going to leave a destroyed ship. And once the small notion of destruction was set in her mind, like her grandfather before her, she wouldn't let it go.

"Okay, Summer. Make these fuckers pay. One shot. One kill. Never died. Never will."

With the mantra in mind, the girl swiped the key card by the door, watching as it slid open with the grace of a sharp knife.

A soldier came around the corner, wearing a smile. "Hey Joe, did you finally break through to the ki- what the gorp?"

Summer raised the gun swiftly, shooting the bug in it's head. He fell hard hard hard onto the tile floor.

"Holy shit!"

Her head snapped up from the body and she watched another soldier as it ran for a pretty red button upon the wall.

She shot at it's back, cursing as he flew forward and still hit the button.

The alarms that flashed around her were loud and annoying and red. A camera above turned toward her and she glared into it as it scanned her.

"That's right." She spoke, shooting the camera lens.

"ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION." the alarms blared even louder. "SUMMER SMITH HAS BREACHED THE SHIP. SUMMER SMITH HAS BREACHED THE SHIP. ALL UNITS TO BASE; SUMMER SMITH OF EARTH DIMENSION C-137 HAS INVADED THE SHIP."

Summer cursed, pushing herself down the hall with her weapons raised. Sliding into a room, she killed the four occupants before they even registered who she was.

The alarms continued to blare. And Summer watched as five federation soldiers ran past the room.

"Hello."

Her head turned fast enough to give her whiplash and she pointed her gun to the figure sitting on one of the room's operating tables.

Although she didn't lower the weapon at what she saw, she didn't necessarily pull the trigger.

The one in front of the gun was her. She was bloody and bruised and breathing in a tube. Hooked upon her head were a few various wires connected to a large screen.

Summer looked around the room, a few body parts lay here and there, more brains in jars than anything.

She lowered her weapons, walking over with her hands raised.

"Please don't." The broken Summer whispered. "There's nothing you can do to stop me from dying. And if there was, I don't want it. Please."

Summer shook her head. Was this what the visitor meant about Summer hurting for years? "What is this?"

"Same thing I asked myself." The other girl muttered in sadness. "I ran away. Aiden told me that if I came with him, I'd be safe. But what I found out was bad. They're killing us. They're killing us to get to Rick C-137."

"My Rick?" Summer asked.

The bruised teen looked up sadly. "I guess if that's your Rick, it stops now. For sixteen years, they've been onto him. At least since the Citadel told the federation where to find Rick and what would draw him in."

The girl cut herself off with a weep. "I don't understand. There was no Summer out there close to her Rick. So how could killing us draw him in?"

Summer backed away. "It's my fault."

"..."

"I didn't want it to come to this. I didn't know anything about this. I don't…"

"You're close to your Rick? Really close?"

"Like Mercury and the Sun." Summer smiled sadly. "Nothing can tear us apart."

The almost dead girl smiled. "Must be one hell of a relationship."

"It is."

"So you're a rogue. If the alarms are anything to go by."

Summer nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to take down this entire ship."

The girl smiled, wiping her face. "I've been alive a lot longer than you and dead a little longer than that. And it looks like _you_ have done things other Summer's prefer not to. So a word of advice; be careful. Take down this ship, but take down the Citadel too."

Summer nodded, turning away.

"Before you go." The girl whispered. "Could you.." she trailed off.

Summer wiped her tears. Turning, she grabbed a small knife from the operating table. "Yeah."

She walked to the girl. Slowly and softly, she placed her hand upon the back of the other Summer's head and pushed she girl's face into her chest.

Holding her head in place, Summer positioned the knife behind her upper neck.

"Wait." Came the muffled cry. The girl looked up at Summer with tears in her eyes. "My name is Summer Smith. I'm from earth dimension A-223. Since you came in after me, did anyone ever love all of us? Did we ever realize it?"

Summer smiled at A-223. "It was Morty all along."

A-223 smiled. "I'll miss him. Promise me something."

"Anything."

"I'm the last Summer to die. Promise me that I'm the last. Out of the hundreds of us, swear to me that I'm the last Summer to sit on this table."

"I promise."

A-223's eyes filled up and she gave Summer a heartbreaking smile. Hugging the girl, she once more buried her face into her breast, like a child would.

"Thank you."

Summer pushed the knife in back of the girl's head and pulled it out fast. Her arms around her went limp and her head grew heavier.

Even then, Summer didn't let A-223 go, opting instead to hold her body and cry.

With gentle hands, she laid the body down and composed herself. She had a ship to ruin.

She looked at the girl one last time. _Take it from me, someday we'll all be free._

* * *

To Morty's satisfaction, the program for Mortys, formally named A Summer To Remember (ASTR), was a sort of resort.

It was nice and clean and their God there was practically Summer. There were statues of her, quotes along the walls by her.

Morty ran to the pink wall with a smile. "I remember this one."

 _You don't love people in hopes of getting a reward. You love them unconditionally._

Rick merely nodded, still thinking of his own Summer. Once the Federation realized they wouldn't find him, they'd kill her.

"What's this?"

His thoughts were silenced as Morty stopped before him, peeking curiously into a large room. Within, about ten Mortys sat around in a circle, as a blue shirt Morty asked questions.

Rick grimaced, wondering just how many Summers the federation had killed before catching his own little girl.

"These are new Mortys. They're- _eurp-_ still in the process of recovering and they have to talk about their experiences."

Morty stepped forward, but Rick grabbed hold of his shirt. "What are you doing? Summer's not dead yet."

Morty stared for some time. "Don't say yet. Summer's not going to die at all. If you're the Rick of all Ricks, then she's the Rickest Summer of them all."

With that point, he walked forward, sitting in one of the chairs.

"Who would like to start?" The blue shirt Morty began. "Remember, we're here to talk about our feelings and let out our frustration and emotion. No one is going to judge you."

After a pregnant silence, a thing which seemed to be conquering the world today, one raised a hand.

He put his head down, biting his lip to the point of drawing blood. A few tears slipped and the Morty nearby placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I lost my sister on Christmas Eve. I didn't know that the Federation had messed with out entire dimension. It was a staged robbery."

He sobbed a little, looking up, directly into Morty C-137's wide eyes.

"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth?"

No one said anything, only continued to stare down at the ground.

"That night, my sister's life was worth a pocket watch."

He broke down into silent sobs as the blue shirt Morty began.

"I know. I know." He laughed a soft and bitter laugh. "I like blue. Before my sister was kidnapped, she gave me a blue shirt."

He stared off into space. "She said 'Morty, all you do is wear yellow. So I'm doing you a favor booger.'" the Morty's laughed softly at their common nickname given by Summer.

"That's why I love blue now. I figured she'd want me to wear it. But it hurts. It does. But that's okay. It's supposed to hurt. If it doesn't hurt, it's not real. My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Summer because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is. Grief and love are conjoined, you don't get one without the other. All I can do is love her, and love the world, emulate her by living with a daring spirit and joy."

They laughed again.

"So maybe I'll gush about some popular kids. Or maybe I'll strive to be a scientist."

Morty sighed, leaning forward. "My sister isn't dead. I have no right to be sitting here."

They stared. "What brought you here?"

Morty smiled. "Because from this day forward, I promise it'll be over. The federation isn't going to take anymore Summers from us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because my sister is going to stop it. She's like that. She's going to take down the entire federation because she can. If not, my grandpa Rick will. But I know for sure it's going to be Summer."

The blue shirt Morty leaned forward, intrigued. "Your sister is the one of C-137 isn't she? The one who roars? The one who freed the Mortys?"

Rick smirked with his eyes closed. Instead of his grandson, he opened his mouth. "Yeah."

"And wher-"

There was a blaring sound that made Rick hold his head. A male voice, particularly a Morty's, rose over the entire building.

"ATTENTION all Mortys, this just in. The Galactic Federation Headquarters ship has been breached."

Rick's phone rang and he grabbed it as a few Morty's began piling put into the center Lobby of ASTR.

"Hello." He called, hoping it was Summer.

"Rick, how did you do it?"

The voice of Quantum Rick nearly pissed him off, but he was too confused at the moment to ask 'what the fuck do you want now.'

"What- _eurp-_ exactly did I do?"

"We've just gotten word that the Galactic Federation Headquarters ship has been breached and someone has killed their president. We know it was y-"

"Sir, we're getting something. A camera from the Federation ship." Quantum Rick ceased speaking.

When Rick heard the commotion in ASTR, he walked to the lobby with Morty.

"Aww, Geez Rick, what's going on?"

Before the man could answer him, a large screen appeared. The Morty's gasped as a Federation soldier was shot down on live television.

There was a lot of screaming. A lot of alarms. A lot of running. The camera was turned toward the recorder.

"Holy shit." Rick muttered.

Summer was walking, sporting the signature federation clothing, a full black bodysuit with red popping up from here to there.

"I've killed your president, this ship's commanding officer. I've conquered your ship. I've assassinated more than forty Galactic Federation soldiers."

The girl glared hard. "That makes up for a thousand Summers. But I'm not done. After seeing what's been happening, I'm coming for _you_. All of _you._ I know what you did. I know how you did it. I know you're a coward. I know you'll be dead."

Rick's brows raised.

"I know you remember me, I, Summer Smith of Earth Dimension C-137, vow to take down every council member of the Citadel of Ricks. Even if the last one I kill kills me too. I'm coming for you all. You won't get away with this. You can run, you can scream, you can cry."

Summer smirked. "Hell, you're going to be doing a lot of that anyway."

The camera went off and Rick looked to Morty with excitement in his eyes. The boy stood frozen as did all the others.

His phone line had been cut and he couldn't hear Quantum Rick any longer.

"What's wrong?"

"Rick, that was a recording. It wasn't live."

"And?" He questioned, not sure what it meant. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Morty gave him a knowing smile, one he never even thought the boy had. "See for yourself."

"Grandpa Rick?" Every occupant of the large lobby turned.

Rick's eyes widened and he dropped his portal gun, not caring if it crashed on the floor with a bang.

Nothing mattered. Nothing at all. The only thing that made sense was her smile.

Her eyes and lips were tired and bruised. Her face was sunken in. She needed to eat. And she looked like a hobo.

But her smile was something. It was real. Not even the cloned Summer from Thry could pull off her smile.

Rick took one step forward. "Summer?"

And by the sheer sound, the girl took off running toward him. And when she was close enough, she jumped, like a child would leap during its first walk.

He spun the crying girl around as she laughed with him. He was so happy. So sad. All at once. He clung to the girl desperately as if letting loose would wisp her away with the wind.

"I love you so much, Sum Sum. And I'm sorry." He admitted.

Summer squeezed tighter and sobbed. "I know. I love you too."

* * *

Summer kneeled with a small smile as she patted the grave softly. They had buried that morning since they'd been one the run.

She smiled sadly. "I didn't know you for long, but I can't say we weren't connected in any way. You kept fight in me, if not more than what I already had."

The wind blew and she leaned forward, dusting the headstone.

 _S.S. A-223_

"You and I are going to meet again. When we're least suspecting it, one day in some far off place, I'll recognize your hope. I'm not saying goodbye to any of you. Because we'll see each other again.

And like I said, take it from me. Someday we'll all be free."

The girl stood, walking away from the cemetery. Rick helped her up onto the platform he stood on. "You alright?" Morty asked.

She ruffled his hair. "Sure am, booger."

She stared at her family. Now, there really was no place to go. Earth had been taken over by the last of the federation and they couldn't go home.

Rick and Morty stood wearing armor and holding guns.

Staring ahead, she watched the forty people before her. Some were Summers. Others were Mortys who'd lost their Summers. Others Mortys that Summer helped free from evil Rick. Others were Ricks who disbanded from the Citadel.

She nodded toward phantom Morty, psychokinetic Morty, and buff Morty.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I think we all know why we went rogue."

She smiled when they raised their guns high.

To her left, Morty nodded in determination.

To her right, Rick smirked at her.

Summer crossed her arms. "That's right. We are going to war."

 **:) Review good friends. It's about to go down.**


	12. And the Rick Played On

**And the Rick Played On**

 **Flashback at the beginning really matters to the chapter.**

 _The young child sat on his knees of his bedroom floor, listening and not listening to the hushed whispers of his parents._

" _He doesn't play with most kids." A soft voice spoke. That of his mother's. Like silk across the dark night sky, kissing every star in it's path._

 _And then came another voice, so unlike the milky dance of his mother's. This voice was gruff and annoyed. Like the eruption of stars in the shadowed sky, scraping against worn silk. This voice was the voice of an asshole and the voice of almighty reason._

 _The boy moved his red train across green carpet in delight, wondering how the colors could contrast and fill each other so much._

" _What do you expect? He ain't exactly like other kids."_

 _The harsh words were followed by an even harsher gasp. "He is too. He eats the same, breathes, sleeps, and plays like other children. Besides, being a little different doesn't mean you can't have friends."_

" _Maybe if he dimmed down a little, they'd play with him. He's weird."_

 _The child's train ceased movement. Unconsciously, his eyes filled up and he glared hard at the train, theorizing that the narrowed eyes would produce less tears._

 _Eventually, the boy smiled again, liking to think that the train only stopped because more people needed to ride. Not because he wasn't good enough in his father's eyes._

 _There was a mushy slam in the hall, flesh touching flesh. And he knew his mother was a bit angry._

" _Roy Sanchez, don't you dare say that about your son. He's just as normal as the next smart kid."_

 _Silence beheld the home for a moment. The child stopped the train and more people hopped on._

 _There was a gruff sigh and footsteps retreating. "Whatever. I'm going to get a- eurp- drink."_

 _The four year old continued to lead the train to California. A soft tap on his door stopped him and eyes found a soft smile._

 _Rita Marthroe was a woman of a kind. Her ancestors had come to the country with nothing and she was raised with nothing. But she had something no one else had. Her mind. The mind that could take her anywhere. The mind that helped her become a scientist as well as author._

 _She'd never really known love growing up in foster homes, so love never really got to know her. They were strangers for some time. But love, as she told her son, had finally worked up the courage to come forward._

 _Love had come in the form of a man who, after suffering injuries in war, lived in the hospital for a while._

 _Roy Sanchez wasn't really a bright child growing up. At just seventeen years old, he was given the choice to either eat books or drink the draft. Never one to even think about college, he chose the war. The war that took everything away from him but his power to give safety and security._

 _He'd fell in love with Rita the moment he saw her. He was charming. She was lost. And somehow, they made it work. Until the second war. While Rita had been pregnant, Roy had been gone. And when he returned to find a mini Rita in his wife's lap, he was somehow still gone._

 _Rita smiled at the child. "Rick."_

 _The boy let go of his train and stood. Although his surprise of her being home was staged, the affection and love in his chest was real. He jumped in her arms. "Mommy!"_

 _Rita smiled wide, tightening her arms around her laughing son. "You're so excited, little one."_

" _I've only been gone for seven hours."_

 _Rick moved back just a little, holding his arms around her neck. "25,200,000 milliseconds."_

 _She smirked. "25,200,000,000 microseconds."_

 _He smiled wide. "You're so cool, mom."_

" _I know." They both laughed. Rita sighed softly, her heart heavy. "You know I love you right?"_

" _Yeah."_

 _And she did love him. So much that she'd given up everything for him. Rick had always looked like Rita. The pale skin. The odd blue hair. The dark buggy eyes. But there was a moment in time when it stopped._

 _When Rita's eyes grew tired and baggy and didn't seem to open as much as they used to. When her hair started to fall out and she'd shaved it all off. The way her skin seemed to go even paler._

 _Rick had grabbed her hand when he was 13. Grabbed her hand very tight as she lay in the hospital bed. He didn't want to be there, staring and looking as she lay dying from that stupid fucking cancer._

 _But after his father had overdosed years earlier, he was all his mother had. She'd smile at him, tell him how proud she was, hug him as tight as her failing body let._

 _He'd smile at her, teeth and all. "I think you look really pretty without hair, mom. And you're my best friend."_

 _Rita and Roy Sanchez had fallen off the earth as softly as they'd come, leaving a storm behind._

 _Rick Sanchez hadn't gotten better over the years. Left with his father's personality and his mother's intelligence and looks; left with loneliness, he really couldn't._

* * *

Rick sat up slowly with a sigh. There was no reason to bolt up in bed as if he'd had a nightmare. Because the memory of his parents were soft.

Instead, it was the heavy feeling in his chest that bothered him. As if something horrible was going to happen. As if he couldn't get by it.

Looking around the room, he watched Morty mumble something and then roll over on his own bunk bed.

Looking to the other bunk bed, he nearly jumped back as his granddaughter's eyes were already on him.

"Christ, Summer. Do you always stare at people at three in the morning?"

The teen yawned and rubbed her eyes. "You woke me up. Kept muttering in your sleep. Something wrong?"

He should have shook his head, not wanting to trouble her with the things in his head. But he didn't. Instead, he sandwiched his face between his palms.

"Do you ever get the feeling that something bad is going to happen? Like we're being led to our unspeakable deaths every waking moment?"

Summer stared for a moment before standing and walking to their dresser. She grabbed a brush, a few hair ties, and he nail polish kit.

Sitting on his bed, Summer muttered a come on. Rick sighed in exasperation, putting his hand out, almost yelping as Summer grabbed the blue nail polish.

"Want to talk about it?" She questioned, going over his nails with the brush, her precision and concentration much like that of an artist.

He smirked. "Never pegged you for a therapist."

She shrugged. "Never pegged you for a philosopher. But...we all have our perks."

They were silent for a moment, only the sound of the brush plunging into the polish filling the void.

"Tammy wants us to come to her wedding." Summer muttered. She grabbed hold of his other hand and instructed him to fan the completed one.

"I told Birdperson marriage is- _eurp-_ a bad idea. I'd know."

"Admit it, you find it so fucking gross."

"I do." Rick muttered.

"That's okay, so do I." Both grandfather and granddaughter laughed at their gossip. "I never knew Tam was into men more than twice her age."

"I never knew she was into beastiality."

Once more the two looked at one another and laughed.

It was nice, Rick supposed. This was nice. To have his own Summer back. Just to gossip and take down the world like they used too.

If they weren't working on gadgets and gossiping, they were doing each other's hair and nails and gossiping. And if they weren't doing either of those things, they were planning.

It had been two months since Summer erased the Federation president and the headquarters ship. Two months since they'd declared war on the Council of Ricks. But surprisingly, nothing had changed.

"Are you going?" He questioned, turning as she began to comb his hair.

"Only if you and Morty go. I may need backup."

"Backup for what?" He questioned, confused. Summer's statement had given him that odd feeling again.

"Grandpa, we're in a war. There are bound to be Ricks and federation soldiers anywhere."

"They haven't made a move yet." Rick muttered, trying to reassure himself more than anything. And this feeling wouldn't disappear.

"What's wrong?"

"I told you." He sighed.

"Yeah, but what made you think about death all of a sudden? You don't care about that."

Rick bit his lip. "Dreamed about my parents."

A silence whispered into the wind, hugging it. Rick never talked about his past. He never even hinted at much. Even when Summer never blamed him, he still wouldn't widen his mouth about losing the Summers.

So Summer shrugged, knowing that just the statement was a war for her grandfather.

"My mother was like you, Summer."

She let the words sink in. "Yeah?"

"Yup. Intelligent and nice. Odd combination really, Summer. Because you don't really g _\- eurp-_ et nice smart people, Summer. They're assholes."

Rick turned, grabbing a pink polish from Summer's box and grabbing one of her feet.

The teen gave a sarcastic smile. "Oh, I'd know."

He rolled his eyes. "Har har har. I know I'm not the nicest guy, but don't think you're out of the clear. You're just- just like your mother, so eventually you'll end up like me."

"Is this the part where I get intimidated?"

"Ugh...duh."

"In case you haven't noticed, my signs of turning out like you started when I was young. And shit doesn't scare me."

Rick nodded. "Well, anyway. My father was a lot like me. Well….us. War messed him up and we really didn't get along so well. But we had our moments. He died from an overdose when I was ten. Mom died when I was thirteen. Cancer."

And that was it. Summer saw that her grandfather didn't really enjoy the past, so she looked over at Morty.

"Booger over there is probably the one with the purest heart."

"Yeah." Rick muttered, glancing at the drool coming from Morty's mouth. "He's like your father."

Summer snorted loudly then. "Yeah right. Dad's an idiot. And his idiocy makes him come off as an arrogant ass. Morty may not be the smartest, but he has a heart of melted gold. He's the nicest person you'll meet. And he won't let anyone change his views. Morty isn't like any of our parents. And that makes him perfect."

She had been staring through her brother with a saddened look upon her face. It was funny, he'd been given 10 years with his father and 13 with his mother, and only one with Summer. But it felt like he'd used all 56 years of his life with her.

And the feeling was so strong, he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"You're perfect, Summer."

Another snort from the girl. Jokingly, she displayed the bruises on her arms. "Yeah."

"I'm serious. Ever since you were a kid, you contained more love than any world that shared our spiral galaxy. In your _\- eurp-_ chest beat a heart as noble as any fiction book hero.

You would always take untold hardships to honour the keeper of your soul. As a baby and child, you needed your mother to be your keeper and your father to be a steadfast guide and role model, but life just didn't unfold that way.

In your eyes, Jerry was too beaten down, too emotionally crippled to reflect even a fraction of the love you poured into him and needed to be mirrored back. Beth kept strict discipline, never yielding, always in charge. The rules we- _eurp-_ re the rules. Though on the outside you remained as beautiful as the day you first cried, your spirit struggled to survive in a world so cold, so bereft of love.

But look at you now. You're the most wanted woman in the entire multiverse. You're leading us to take down a corrupt system and you already took down one alone. Sure- Sure the federation took over Earth, but that's only to keep us away. It doesn't change that- that they're a failed system, Summer."

His granddaughter smiled brightly, even if it was hard to believe. "Thanks. Now, you did my toes, I have to do yours."

Rick sighed in exasperation. "Fine, but only because I believe gender roles are stupid and do nothing to contribute to society."

The girl nodded in agreement. "Yup." She began to clip his toenails. "By the way, when did you get so nice?"

"Ever since I had to take care of some stubborn ass teen."

His hands found her head and she laughed.

On his bed, Morty turned with a soft groan. "Guys, seriously. It's three in the morning."

"Sorry, Morty. Your opinion means very little to me."

Summer sighed. "Sorry, Morty. We'll keep quiet."

"Thanks. You know- today is a really big day."

Summer's mouth opened with an 'O.' "That's why you couldn't sleep, grandpa. Today is the end."

* * *

Rick bit upon his lip subconsciously as they all watched Summer strap into her armor. Her face determined and her eyes narrowed, Summer said nothing as she got ready.

Phantom Morty moved forward, his head tilted upward as if to question 'huh?' with a small laugh.

"I think we should go over the plan again. Shell-shocked Morty is messing us up."

Summer stood. "It's too late now. Grandpa is going to go over your plan. I, on the other hand, have a scene to make."

"Are you sure you don't need more people?" Morty questioned.

She would be going back onto the headquarters ship to eliminate the force field they'd placed around it after the president's assassination, but she only needed herself.

She smiled. "Nah, booger. I'm as good as it gets. I promise the Citadel is going to get what's coming to them."

Morty nearly curled into himself. "That's not what scares me, Summer."

A heavy silence settled over them, thicker then the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. Unsettled eyes glanced unceremoniously around and tried to avoid catching other glances that passed by.

Summer sighed. "Morty. There is nothing...in this word that can kill me." Morty looked down. "I can't even kill me."

Nervously, he nodded. Usually Rick would say something rude about Morty being a little bitch, but he couldn't find himself to do it.

Like Morty, he too had a feeling that something would go wrong. And he should have said it, but Summer had already left.

Rick sighed. "Alright. We're ready."

Phantom Morty swooshed around. "She said it'll take just a minute to get to the federation's control room to boot down their controls."

"Then we should get to the Citadel first. I'll make the call. Remember, we shoot to kill and fast so that Summer can get off that ship."

* * *

Summer bit her lip as she snuck around the ship. Peeking into a large meeting room, she watched various soldiers and agents as they sat around the table.

"As hard as a time this may be, we need to continue this empire." The bug who spoke stood high at the head of the table. His suit crisp and his lips flat, Summer knew exactly what his purpose was.

"After my best assassins find the infinite Summer and the infinite Rick, I will take charge as the new president of the Galactic Federation. My brother's death-"

She found it odd really. The way death seemed to come at the most significant times. As if all it was was an extended cliffhanger. No matter if it were natural or forced, death seemed to take the most important words and thoughts and cease them.

As if those words or thoughts weren't important.

The soon to be president stayed alive for a millisecond after his death. And in that millisecond, he and Summer looked to one another. And both apologized. Because death had no right to consume them. And hate did not simmer into the wind until one took their final breath.

When he fell backward, perfectly onto his chair, Summer threw the grenade. It shattered the bugs instantly, spraying their body parts around like a high school food fight.

Her phone rang. Grabbing it, the girl composed herself. "Yeah?"

"Is it done?"

Her grandfather's voice calmed her and she rested against the wall.

"Yeah. They were about to get a new president. I killed him."

"Summer...you don't have to do this. I can come over right now and finish this for you."

The alarm began to blare and Summer grabbed her gun. "I can do this, Grandpa. Besides, it's up to me to finish what I started. How's it looking over there?"

Rick laughed. "We're making our way to the council room. We've only killed a few Ricks. They aren't really willing to go down for themselves."

"That's g-"

Summer's phone was shot out of her hand and she grimaced, shooting the Federation soldier down.

"Okay. I've got to shut down that force field."

* * *

"Summer?" Rick called as she'd hung up on him. "Summer, are you there? Answer you little shit."

But there was no answer and every bad thought began to horrify him. And he began to feel monotonous.

"Damnit, what the fuck is wrong with you? We need th-"

"Rick, they're onto us. We have to move in and take down as many council members as we." Morty interrupted.

"We can't move until Summer calls us and tells us she took down that force field." Buff Morty countered, worried now.

"What happened?" Summer of H-107 inquired, her head turned to the side.

"Summer got disconnected. Rick can't send the Citadel into the federation until the field is down. We need her call."

"There's no time!" Rick of E-235 practically yelled. "Do it C-137. If we fail, we leave."

Despite his fears, Rick wanted to believe that only her phone was destroyed. So he nodded as the Citadel door was kicked in.

Summer's army moved in, their weapons pointing at each council member.

Rick Prime stood. "What the Rick is this foolishness?!"

Morty smiled. "Brace yourselves."

Rick bit his lip, hoping like hell that hacking into the teleportation department was worth it. Well, of course it was worth it because he really didn't give a shit about the Citadel, but if the plan succeeded, then that meant Summer was still alive.

At first nothing happened.

But when the Citadel shook, and gunshots began to fill the air, and the alarms went off, Morty jumped up with both fists raised. "Yes, she did it."

Rick Prime gasped. "What the fuck? We just teleported into a galactic federal prison."

The Ricks began to disperse, but the bullets began to spray at them.

"Morty! Grandpa!"

Morty turned, finding Summer running for them, her weapons in hand. "Aww, Summer, you did it."

Rick IV grabbed his own gun, rushing over to grab at Summer. With his pistol to her head, the councilman inched away from everyone.

"That's enough, Rick. I know how much you love this girl."

"What- _eurp-_ What's this supposed to accomplish? We have infinite grandkids. You're trying to use Disney bucks at a Caesar's Palace here."

Summer chuckled nervously as Rick IV clicked his gun off safety. "That's a bluff. He's bluffing, sir. He loves me."

"You're a rogue Rick. Irrational, passionate. You love your grandkids. Especially Summer. Why else would you choose her? You won't leave this place until she's safe."

Rick laughed a bitter one. "I came to kill you, bro. For all I know, the federation is playing again and that Summer is just a clone."

His granddaughter's eyes widened and she physically shook with fear. "Oh, my God. He's not bluffing. He's not bluffing!"

"R-Rick?" Morty questioned, horrified. "What are you doing?"

"Why not shoot through her?"

He shrugged. "20 yards, nine-gauge plasma pistol, My first shot would liquify her insides and injure you, second shot adds recoil. The risk to me is minimized if I wait for you to shoot her, which I'm encouraging you to do."

Summer began to struggle. "What the fuck?"

" _Or_ let her go, which I will reward with a quicker death."

"Because you love her!" Rick IV yelled, as if his argument was the whole point.

"Because it's incentive for you to give me my cleanest shot, which will be your least painful death. But if you want to die slower than that, I'm super into it. All you gotta do to get that started is kill the girl."

Tears filled Summer's eyes. "I hate you!"

"Not an issue, sweetie."

The whole situation was hysterical and they were all silenced by Morty's Guttural growl. "That's enough! Drop the gun, Rick!"

Rick sighed heavily. "Morty, I know you're too stupid to get this, but you're really fucking this up right now."

"You love Summer, though!"

"I love myself. If letting the Citadel and Federation kill each other means Summer has to die, then so be it."

"I'm not letting you let my sister die! Drop the gun!"

"I wasn't gonna let her die, you fucking moron!"

"Ha!" Rick IV yelled in a 'told you so' manner.

"The point is he thought I was going to."

"I totally did, by the way. You're a fucking moron, Morty."

With his gun still facing Rick IV, he turned with a harsh glare to Morty. "You're a serious fucking idiot, Morty! You basically killed us all! You're the worst! You're as dumb as a bag of sand."

By then Summer began to yell too, justifying Morty's actions as only trying to do what was right.

They all were yelling loudly, and the only thing that stopped them was the way Rick just flopped to the ground.

"Who's stupid now, bitch?!" Morty yelled angrily.

"Oh my god." Summer whispered.

Rick IV laughed. "That was amazing, Morty. Oh, my God. Wow. Okay, let's wrap this-"

Then he fell to the ground. Summer sighed, stretching. "Geez, you said it was only going to take two minutes."

She walked over, helping her grandfather, who'd been sitting up and aiming, off the floor.

"Don't blame me. Your brother was the one who took too long to shoot me."

Summer sighed. "Geez. This whole system is about to crash. Let's finish."

"Never pegged you for a good actor." Rick said, smiling.

"Almost ruined my makeup when I faked a cry. Never pegged you either."

Rick shrugged. "It's n- _eurp-_ ot really hard to act like an asshole."

Morty rubbed his arm in embarrassment. "What's going on?"

"Your gun, Morty." Smer encouraged.

Morty examined his gun, stopping when he noticed a small note taped to the side. "Fake gun, shoot me in standoff." Nervously, he laughed. "Ha, yeah. G-Good thing I saw that note."

Rick glared. "You little shit-"

"Guys. We really need to go before the walls collapse on us." One of the Summer's muttered.

Summer nodded herself. "Right. Morty take this." She threw her portal gun to her brother. "Get the Summers and Mortys to their original home while I shut down the Federation for good."

"What do you mean shut it down for good? Are you going to set all their nukes to target each other?"

Summer smirked, walking next to her grandfather by a control board. The two began moving their fingers over the device swiftly.

Rick nodded at the screen. "Hacked it." He called.

Summer lifted her finger. "Watch Summer topple an empire by changing a one to a zero."

There was yelling outside. "Who's paying me to kill all these Ricks?!"

* * *

"What'd I tell ya?" She questioned, hyper actively moving around him in circles. And such was no easy feat as he'd been getting ready for the wedding.

He rolled his eyes, placing his hand upon her forehead in some baptizing way, gently pushing her aside. "Alright, alright. Geez."

"Say it." She demanded. "Say it."

"Summer. What the fuck? You're- _eurp-_ as smart as I am. Why do you need to hear me say that you were right."

The girl shrugged, fixing her purple dress. "Cause I'm fucking awesome."

Her statement oddly reminded him of himself and he smirked at the girl. "Well I ain't saying it."

A soft knock at the door interrupted their banter and Beth stood near Morty, Jerry's suit in hand.

"Are you guys ready? Jerry should be at the wedding by now?"

They nodded, walking out to the space cruiser. Summer groaned as she was flanked to the backseat since her mother wanted to sit in the front.

When they'd arrived, Jerry hadn't arrived at planet Scaunch at all. Scaunchy was outside, however. And he greeted Rick and Summer with a smile.

"Rick Sanchez, you psycho bag of Squanch! And Summer Smith the Scaunch of the devil, you!"

Rick took a big drink from his flask and Summer waved brightly. "Hey, what's up, Squanchy?"

Morty waved. "Morty! And you must be Beth." He kissed Beth's hand, making her children look and giggle at one another. "Au squanché."

"Your language has 'squanch,' in it a lot. Doesn't that become tedious and worn out like the Smurf thing?"

Rick shook his head first. "Beth, Squanchy culture is more... contextual than literal."

Summer stepped ahead, ready to go inside. "You just say what's in your squanch and people understand."

"Oh, okay... I squanch my family."

The teen, who'd been walking, turned around, her face horrified and her cheeks rosy. "Mom, stop. Ugh.. you're so embarrassing." But it was muttered softly.

"Uhh…" Scaunchy began, not knowing what to say.

"What? I do, I squanch my family."

Rick put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You don't need to use the language. I- _eurp-_ t doesn't suit you. Come on."

As the first person in the backyard, Summer squealed once she saw Tammy. "I'm going to go talk to her."

And she was gone.

Morty pointed to someone he'd met one Rick and Summer's travel. "Hey there's….fart."

And he was gone too, leaving the adults to themselves.

Someone tapped Rick's soldier. He turned. "Birdperson."

"Rick, I am pleased you and your family could witness my melding with Tammy. It is very important for you and Summer to attend. Tammy has something special for her."

The statement made Rick feel odd inside, but before he could question it, Beth spoke up.

"Our pleasure."

"Yeah, I just hope you got a pre-meld."

"Dad!"

"It's just a practical way of making sure that when she's done with you, you can get one of your balls back."

"Jesus, dad. He's just grumpy from the flight." The blond woman spoke apologetically.

"Ohh, I-I was happy on the flight. I'm grumpy from the landing."

He stormed away then, not okay. Not okay with being here, not okay with anything. At the sound of a squeal, he turned, watching Summer gush over the 'ring' on her friend's finger.

It was very odd. The feeling that defined his entire being had come back. He wanted to vomit, he wanted to be a hero. For who and what, he had no idea. He was afraid, but what was there to be afraid of really? The feeling would kill him if he didn't calm down.

Looking away, the man requested strong vodka from the bartender.

* * *

"Listen, I'm not the nicest guy in the Universe because I'm the smartest. And being nice is something stupid people do to hedge their bets. Now, I haven't been exactly subtle about how little I trust marriage. I couldn't make it work, and I could turn a black hole into a sun, so at a certain point, you gotta ask yourself what are the odds this is legit and not just some big lie we're all telling ourselves because we're afraid to die alone? Because, you know, that's exactly how we all die... alone."

Summer sighed at her drunk grandfather.

"But... but... Here's the thing. Birdperson is my best friend, and if he loves Tammy, well, then I love Tammy, too. To friendship, to love, and to my greatest adventure yet... opening myself up to others."

Everyone cheered and Tammy gushed. "Thank you, Rick. That was beautiful. Oh wow. I'd like to call a very special person up here. Summer Smith."

Summer gushed, making Rick roll his eyes as she went up to stand next to Tammy.

"Everyone….Summer Smith is very important to me. Ever since we were kids, she'd stick up for anything that was right, even if she was standing alone. When I began dating Birdperson, everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Just some high school girl believing in puppy love. But Summer told me to forget what everyone said and follow my heart."

A few awws went around the room and Morty nudged his grandfather who sat rigid. "What's wrong?"

He said nothing though, and the feeling in his stomach intensified. He couldn't shake it.

"Summer Smith. I want to thank you for a lot. For letting me believe myself. For standing up for what you believed was right. For trusting so quickly after you'd just eliminated the Galactic Federation."

Summer, sure she'd heard wrong, turned her head to the side. But there was no need. Tammy's smile was so sinister that she felt so stupid to not realize.

"Oh my God." She whispered.

Tammy moved away. "Kill her." She demanded.

Birdperson stood tall, like a soldier would after being given orders. "Yes, I will."

And he'd had listed his hand fast, giving no one in that room time to even scream.

As if a balloon filled with blood popped on her chest, Summer took years to fall back. Rick screamed for eternity.

And then he knew. It was in that fraction of time, where Summer seemed to fall with the grace of leaves, that he'd found the cause of his feelings. The lurker in the shadows.

It was death who had followed them for a while. And Rick thought about it then. How oddly it played out. How at one moment, you could feel it all, and then the next you could feel nothing.

He wondered how long the shadow had been following them. How many times had Rick turned when he felt something? How long had death been lurking in the dark?

 _Rita and Roy Sanchez had fell off the face of the Earth as softly as they'd come, leaving a storm behind._

Rick realized then, in those years that Summer took to fall, death had always followed him. And no matter the people around him, they would always get hurt.

"Noooooo!" Without thought, without life, without conscience, his own gun was raised.

Birdperson fell to the ground then, clawing and confused. Rick looked away.

 _I just killed my best friend._

 _But my best friend just killed my life._

The gunshots flew everywhere, Morty being the first to shoot Tammy in her shoulder. Jerry cowered beneath the table, not letting go of Beth's hand.

Despite nearly being shot, Rick had made it to the podium, dropping his gun at the sight of Summer.

He grabbed her. "Shh. I got you, Summer."

She blinked rapidly, tried grabbing him and missed, closed her eyes. Rick tapped her face. "No, no, stay up. I'm getting us out of here."

Grabbing her dress gently, Rick pulled Summer outside as Scaunchy had ordered.

"Come on!" He yelled harshly at Jerry as he ran toward the cruiser.

Tammy's robotic parents kept coming though and as Jerry jumped in, he grabbed a confetti gun.

"Good thing I grabbed a space weapon."

He shot and party bits flew all over. Rick growled, grabbing Jerry and throwing him back. "That's a confetti gun you fucking idiot! Drive Morty."

He shot Tammy's parents, and closed the door, crouching once more beside the dying Summer.

Death was always there, following him and the closer he got, the odder Rick felt. Death was a ghost that people feared.

One knew when their time was nearing its end because they could feel the chill of death's icy breath as it tickled the hairs on the back of their neck. But Rick felt Summer's death before she could.

Summer grabbed him weakly, her eyes begging him to take the pain away.

"No." He whispered, his tears dripping down onto her face. "No, you can't, Summer. Please stay up."

Tearing off his coat, he lifted her arms, wrapping it around her chest. "You survived this before. You can do it again."

But he felt hopeless. Before wasn't real. Now, the way that Summer's eyes closed and opened, the way she breathed and cried in pain, it was real.

He looked up at Beth. "Beth, help her."

Beth shook her head in shock and sadness. "I'm an animal surgeon. I can't."

He sobbed as Summer shook. "Please." He begged.

Once more, her head shook. "Dad, I c-"

Rick raised his gun, making everyone freeze. "Help her!" He screamed. "I will put you down where you stand! All of you! Help her!"

Dropping the gun, he rested his head on Summer's stomach as she calmed down.

* * *

 _He both listened to and ignored the harsh argument between his mother and grandmother._

" _You're going to give up good chemotherapy treatment for what?"_

 _Rita chuckled weakly. Slowly, she rubbed her palms. Rick believed she was doing everything really slow these days. Everything weakly. Hell, even her breathing was weak. He'd always have to help her into bed, help her out. Bring her breakfast, wash her in the tub, shave her head so the patches wouldn't be seen._

 _Sometimes she just lived weakly. Half awake, half asleep, most times, half dead._

" _Even though I'm sure Ricky is going to be valedictorian, I'm leaving most of the money to him so that his college funding is taken care of."_

" _Rita, sweetie. You know he's going to get some sort of scholarship. The boys needs you here."_

" _If he gets a scholarship, then he can use the money for personal things. Besides, mom, you know Rick hates seeing me like this."_

" _So what? You're just going to give up everything for that boy? He's just like his father-"_

" _Mom." Rita's voice, though soft and sweet, was dangerously calm. Her mother stopped talking, teared up, and left the room._

 _Rick kept his head down, pretending that the book in his hands was extremely interesting._

 _Rita coughed harshly. "That book must be your favorite. You've read it several times."_

 _Rick looked up with a smile. "It is my favorite. I like going back and finding things I didn't notice before."_

 _The woman hummed and looked away, down at her covers. Rick watched her for a while, taking her every feature in. So that one day, when he couldn't see her, he'd remember how she looked._

 _Three years ago, he'd never gotten the chance with his father, who'd died so abruptly. He'd be damned if he missed his mom._

" _I know you heard what your grandmother said, Ricky."_

 _He put the book down. "Why don't you get the good treatment, mom? I can take care of myself."_

 _She smiled at him. "Come here." He obliged and she grabbed hold of his hand. He was strong enough to hold her's up._

" _You know I love you right?"_

 _He blushed. "Yeah, mom, I know. So much that'd you'd do anything for me." He recited her mantra with proficiency._

" _Rick. One day you're going to find someone that you'd risk everything for. One day you're going to love someone so much, that you're going to do anything for them. Even give your own life."_

 _He watched his mother's head fall. And instead of going to get the doctor, Rick let go of her hand and hugged her tight, kissing the top of her bald head._

" _I love you too, mom."_

* * *

"We're losing her." Beth stated, as she continued to push down on Summer's chest.

She hadn't done much, only managed to remove the bullet from Summer's chest. But the blood just kept coming, stopping Beth from stitching the wound.

"She's losing too much blood."

Rick let go of Summer's hand, wincing as the girl cried out, moving to find a tube somewhere in the cruiser.

In relief, he'd found one underneath the seat and handed it to his daughter. "Take mine and give it to her. We have the same blood type."

"What?" Beth asked, sure her father was crazy now. "We have no equipment. We can't monitor how much blood you'll lose. You could die."

Summer's head dropped lower onto the floor and Rick gave Beth two needles. "Just do it. Please."

He grabbed Summer's hand tightly once more, and seemingly her eyes opened. Sure, it seemed pained and they opened an inch, but they still opened.

There was a stinging in his nose and his throat started to tighten. He opened his mouth to let in a small breath as tears welled in his eyes.

He fought with everything he had to keep them from falling, but when Summer smiled softly, lost in the state of dying, he couldn't control it.

Pear shaped tears rapidly streamed down his face and he started to whimper.

"Please…" he begged, collapsing his head on her stomach. His eyes stung and his body trembled. "...don't go" he muttered, collapsing completely.

 _One day you're going to love someone so much, that you're going to do anything for them. Even give your own life._

In a span of three hours, he'd killed his best friend, pointed a gun in his daughter's face, and risked his life for Summer. If that didn't go beyond his mother's prediction, he had no idea what would.

He heard Beth say something along the lines of enough. But he was already asleep. Half alive, floating, and trying to find Summer in the dark.

 **Okay, that's enough. Geez, screw Tammy right? As you guys noticed, I switched the order of events around. Wooh, wooh. Review to see what's happens next. Also, how did you guys like my spin on Rick's childhood? Rita and Roy Sanchez, eh?**


	13. Saints and Summers

**Saints and Summers**

His body was sending his brain weird signals. He was sweating. The balance of his inner ear had gone. His bones, no longer needed, were leaking calcium. His back was aching because of the elongation of his spine. Inside his stomach, his guts were floating helplessly, and because of the shift in his fluid level, he felt a desperate need to go to the toilet...And it got worse.

Rick stopped spinning and found himself floating in the very center of the module. Either he was moving very slowly or he wasn't moving at all. The rails were now uselessly high above his head. He stretched out his arms and discovered the walls were a couple of inches out of reach. It was like some terrible nightmare. Every time he strained forward, his body moved back.

"Don't breathe." Summer's voice called behind him. "It only makes it worse."

He turned with a hard glare. "You little shit." He hissed. With his fist balled up and his eyes hard as old clay, the man grabbed her shoulders, pulling her close.

"I told you I had a bad feeling."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but that was about breaking the Citadel and taking down the Federation."

"Who knew you'd be friends with an intergalactic narc."

Summer shrugged. "Hey, she was cool. And now we know why. Because of us. I'll kill her when I see her again."

They remained silent for a time. Rick's head turned to the side. "Hey Summer?"

"Hm?"

"Are we dead?"

The girl smirked, putting her head down and closing her eyes. "Not quite. I came here to wake you up."

"Me….up?"

"Yeah. You've been unconscious for a few days. You can't go around exhausting yourself, grandpa, it's so not healthy."

"You exhaust me." He hissed. And it was true. He was fine before, living his life like a Rick would.

"I just had to come see you all those years ago. And that's when t- _eurp-_ trauma started. Before you, I didn't need to worry about multiple versions of a girl getting killed. I didn't need to kill people for you. I didn't need to feel bad when you wanted to take lead adventures and almost got raped in the process. I didn't need to worry about you exploding or getting kidnapped and then shot. All this bullshit started with you."

Instead of showing her hurt, Summer grimaced and tapped his forehead. "Sorry, grandpa. You're opinion means very little to me. Now close your eyes."

The old man complied.

There was a flash of the whitest light he'd ever seen. The light seared into his eyes like a hot camera flash, but after the heat and light had gone he was left in the most complete blackness he had ever known. Even in the blackest night there was some light from the stars. He could feel sand shifting under his toes, he could hear the ocean and the chatter of gunfire, he could still smell the saltiness of the ocean air. But he could see nothing at all.

Rick gasped, sitting up, his breathing erratic and his mind everywhere. Adjusting to the real world, the man turned in all different directions.

He was within the garage on an operating table he hadn't seen before.

And there in the corner, bruised but healed, was Summer. The teen had been leaning over some sort of machine he'd again never saw before. On her chest were various gauze pads.

The faintest stitches skimmed beyond those pads and the man cringed when he noticed her obvious physical pain.

Her complexion was ashen. Her natural golden skin had sunken in tone to something so lifeless it scared Rick just to look at her. The teen closed her eyes, clutching her chest in agony.

Rick watched her for eternity there, trying to regain composure. But really only a few minutes had passed.

She turned to him and when she stood, he didn't miss the way her knuckles gripped the machine before her. The way her knees begged to buckle.

She and Rick stared at one another before she smirked softly, boasting her shoulders with no ease. "Fuck... I love myself. I'm okay."

Rick grimaced then, attempting to erase the deep thought that she was still in pain. "I wasn't worried."

"I know. But just in case you were."

"I wasn't."

Another silence. "We're lucky Morty got us home in time. Well, you are at least." The girl smirked, removing her gauze pads. "Mom patched me up in time."

Rick stared at the nasty monster eating away Summer's skin. It was black and blue and green and red and purple, all the colors of a rainbow… just the dead side of them.

The skin Beth had stitched up overlapped so much that Summer could well be Frankenstein's monster. Moreso, the area surrounding the stitches was puffy, filled with white blood cells in a scurry to not get clogged.

Between the stitches was puse, oozing out slightly, being mistaken for sweat.

Summer kept speaking, but he really wasn't listening.

 _In time_ , he'd repeated her words as if they were some sort of puzzle when he knew exactly what she meant.

 _In time._

 _In time._

 _Summer could be dead._

His pain was an icy wind choking the breath from his lungs and making a noose around his neck. The savage bitter blasts cut right to his bones and gripped his brain in freezing claws. His heart constricted in its wake as if not sure if it should go on beating.

"So what do you say?"

He caught her eyes, confused as his fears were broken. "Huh?"

"Just a normal relaxing adventure today." Summer continued. "Just like old times."

If he listened well, it would sound like she was begging. And maybe she was, because it had been so long since they went on a regular adventure together. Bonding and learning. It made him wonder, if he'd asked, would he beg too?

"Sure." He answered, absentmindedly, his eyes going to the bullet wound upon her chest.

Summer sighed, putting the gauze back in it's place. "I'm okay. I can do it."

And this time, he made no move to deny his worry.

* * *

Rick cringed when Summer began coughing. It sounded loose and wet, like thick phlegm mucus was sliding up and down her throat with each violent expulsion of air. She hacked and wheezed until she took a sharp gasp of air, clutching her chest.

Rick winced even more when she took a sip of her water. Not because it shook in her hand, but because of the red tint that the water took when she backwashed.

 _Blood_

Attempting to kill the atmosphere, Summer smiled. "I have to say, grandpa. It's pretty great to be in this spaceship, just the two of us, you know? Just cruising around, Rick and Summer style. Haven't gotten to do this since Mr. Needful."

In order to not show his concern, Rick supposed he wouldn't ask about her well being. Therefore, he nodded with a smile.

"I agree, Sum. _Eurp-_ It's nice to get back to the basics after a pretty intense, mixed-bag of a year."

Before Summer could speak some more, a loud splat sounded and both grandfather and granddaughter sneered at the remnants of the space insect.

"Huh... good thing windshields are-" he cut himself off when the bugs remnants smeared even more. "Ah shit. Gotta pull over somewhere."

The planet they'd arrived to was small and old, some sort of wild wild west bullshit. Summer coughed softly as they both left the space cruiser. "Woah. Check out old timer over there. He's like seriously old."

"Like me?" Rick questioned in a joking manner.

Summer smirked. "What? You don't look a day over thirty, grandpa."

They laughed together, Summer's laugh being shorter as her hacking started, and walked to the old man.

Rick questioned him about fuel and worshipping, and the seemingly nice creature smiled.

"The general store ought to have what you need."

"Thanks." Rick murmured absentmindedly, almost turning away.

"Of course, you'll be wanting to be gone from here by sundown." The old man advised and Summer sighed because she knew it would interest her grandfather.

"Yeah, sure thing. Wait a minute. What? Why?"

"Sundown is when the festival begins."

"The festival?"

"Ooh, well, for millennia, our society has been free of crime and war, living in perfect peace."

Rick gasped in near excitement. "Oh I know what this is! You've been able to sustain world peace because you have one night a ye- _eurp-_ ar where you all run around robbing and murdering each other without consequence."

"That's right."

Rick turned to Summer, his arms wide. "They're peaceful, and then, you know, they just purge."

Never a fan of killing unless absolutely necessary, Summer winced. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah." They were quiet for some time. "You want to check it out?"

Summer only sighed. When she did that, Rick ran to the cruiser, locking the doors.

She sighed again, walking over. "Come on. This isn't funny. Open the door."

Rick said nothing. In order to be as Rick as possible, he couldn't show that he cared. He'd only wait til sundown to get a rise out of her.

But it didn't happen.

Whatever scared the shit out of Summer had come minutes before sundown.

The sky was still orange when she turned her head.

Still yellow when her eyes widened.

Still pink when tears filled her eyes, when she started banging on the window, and coughing haphazardly.

"Grandpa Rick, let me in! Let me in! Hurry!"

His eyes squinted to the direction of her frightened ones, but he saw nothing.

Still, he unlocked the doors, cursing himself for caring.

She climbed in, clutching her wound and shaking.

"Buzz kill." He sang.

"I hate you!" She whined.

"Hm. Hard to believe."

"Yeah. Hard to believe you don't care either. So I wish you'd stop acting like it." She muttered, still shaking and ducking in her seat.

He shook his head. "Calm your tits, Summer. The Purge hasn't even started yet."

"Let's just get this over with."

And they did. While Summer remained lowered in her seat, Rick watched the purging with fascinated eyes.

"Whoa! Whoa, they are purging the shit out of each other."

There were gunshots and Summer sunk even lower in her seat.

"Oh, my God! Oh fuck!"

"That was... okay, yeah. T-that was gross. Wow. Man, I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach on this one, Sum. Ugh. My appetite for purge-spectating got filled pretty quick. Oh, God."

Summer shook her head as Rick opened the window and began vomiting on the ground below. "I told yo-"

A shrill scream cut her off and Summer sat up quickly. What she witnessed made her bite her lip in agitation.

A cat girl surrounded by various men. An image of Mr. Jellybean appeared and Summer bit her nails.

"We have to stop them. They're going to hurt her!"

Rick had appeared back in the cruiser. "Duh, Summer. That's the point of the purge."

She shook her head, watching as the men moved in. "Not like that."

The desperation in her voice made Rick groan and finally look over. When he saw, the memories of killing all versions of Mr. Jellybean returned and he understood.

With a sigh, he moved in. "You're getting on my-my last fucking nerve here, Summer. You know t-this purge thing is getting out of hand and y- _eurp-_ want to go help a girl, Summer. She might be dead next year, Summer. We could just let fate take its course, Summer."

"You don't even believe in fate." She argued.

The man made a few non-committal remarks and smashed against the surrounding villagers that were moving in on the girl. Summer got out first, making Rick grimace as a few other villagers turned their eyes toward her.

Summer grabbed the girl's hands. "Are you okay? My name is Summer. This is my grandpa. We're tourists."

Rick lifted his gun, shooting at a mob that came near. "Not anymore. This is fucking awesome! Summer, this is really cool. Hey, y-you want to help me out here and kill some people? It's fun. We're totally justified because we're saving a little girl. I mean, w-w-we're both free and clear to murder these people."

Summer only shook her head and turned to the girl. "Are you okay?"

The cat nodded, shaking slightly. "Yes. I have to find somewhere to hide."

"Well, you can hide with us. Grandpa?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we could take... what's your name?"

"Arthrisha."

"Could we take Arthrisha up in the ship and, you know, just wait out the purge?"

Rick looked once at Summer's bulging eyes and sighed. "Fine. But she's out of here as soon as the sun rises and I get to choose the next three adventures."

Summer gasped, crossing her arms. "Three?!"

Rick crossed his arms too. "Take it or leave it. Her outfit is blowing my buzz, and that's two penalties in itself."

With a sigh of defeat, his granddaughter nodded. "Deal."

They made their way to the cruiser and strapped in, Summer sitting in the middle of the two. Arthrisha looked around as they took off. "Your vehicle... is it from the gods?"

In sync, Summer and Rick answered.

"Yes."

"Yes."

They looked at one another and laughed a little, but it had been ruined by Summer's blood induced cough.

The girl smiled apologetically, but tensed at the sound of shots from what could be a very vintage shotgun. "Can we go up just a little bit?" She requested.

And Rick did. They sat quiet for a moment, just thinking and not thinking at all.

"You breathe really heavy." Arthrisha commented after a moment of silence.

Summer looked to her. "Me?" She self consciously asked.

The cat nodded. "Yeah. It's a wheezing sound. Are you sick?"

Summer blushed heavily and turned away. Rick watched as she closed her lab coat just a little tighter, trying to cover up the nasty monster that came into her life. The reason why she couldn't breathe right, speak right, laugh right, or think right.

And defensively, Rick sneered at the girl. "Careful. Words like that will have you getting pushed from this vehicle before you can even think about jumping on your own convictions."

Heatedly, the girl nodded.

Another moment of silence passed, this one awkward as Summer tried to breathe slowly and quietly to not disturb anyone.

But it only came out like an old man on a lifeline. And she wanted to stop breathing all together.

Arthrisha almost jumped. "Nana!"

Rick, still bitter, sneered. "What?"

"We have to go save my nana!'

Summer coughed. "You're just now realizing you have one?"

"I was traumatized."

"You look like you're my brother's age, so you must have been going through this for 15 years."

Summer's challenging intelligence made Arthrisha blush. "Are we going to save her or not?"

"Careful." Rick barked. Once more things grew silent. "We'll take you to your nana or- _eurp-_ whatever, but we're leaving you there."

"Alright."

Rick landed where she asked him to and got out. Summer unstrapped too, but Rick shook his head. "No. Summer, stay here. I'll be back."

He walked into the house.

Summer waited, her eyes going everywhere so she would know to run.

Jumping back, the girl stared horrified at the home that just released two gunshots.

Her breathing became erratic, and she clutched her chest wound tightly. When Arthrisha emerged from the house alone, Summer knew something was wrong.

The girl pointed the gun. "Out."

 _Thank you so much for trusting so quickly after you just eliminated the Galactic Federation._

Summer moved out of the vehicle like a bot taking orders. She said nothing as the cruiser took off. She stood numb, holding her chest.

Someone grunted behind her and she jumped.

"It's me." Rick grumbled, holding his stomach.

Summer gasped in shock. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Rick pulled out his serum and applied it to the wound. "I didn't have this during the wedding."

"I wish you did." She spoke self-consciously.

"Shut up."

"M'kay."

"She got me right in the goddamn liver, Summer. It's the hardest-working liver in the galaxy, Summer, and now it has a hole in it. I hope it was worth it."

"I was just trying to do right."

"Yeah, well, that's not really the theme of tonight's party. Heads up. Rapists. Well, don't just stand there, Sum. Purge 'em."

"Me?"

"No, me. Should I rub my liver hole on them? Pick up a stick or something and kill them."

Summer squealed in desperation, feeling all over her lab coat to think. She grabbed a small device and threw it at one rapists.

It electrified the man's skeleton and killed him.

Rick held up something too. "There's a lot more where that came from. So get the fuck out of here." When they did scatter, Rick instructed Summer to grab their things. "Let's go find this asshole."

* * *

Summer held the shotgun she'd taken close to her, but she walked cautiously not wanting to hear it.

"Can't we just use my portal gun and go home?"

Rick shook his head. "Not happening, sweetie. I need my ship. And that girl's gotta die."

Summer sighed softly. "I don't like being here." She murmured.

"Why the hell are you letting yo- _eurp-_ ur feelings do the walking all of a sudden? Because of that, I got shot."

Summer inhaled sharply, freezing in her walk. Rick stopped too.

While Rick stared at the crashed spaceship, Summer's eyes went beyond such.

She stared at nothing in the distance. But Rick could see that it _horrified_ her. He tried imagining what could possibly scare Summer although it wasn't physical.

She'd never been afraid of ghost so that was out of the question. But Summer continued to stare in agonizing fear.

So much fear that Rick became afraid for her.

After touching her chest, the teen looked down and away from the abyss.

"Come on, Sum." Rick muttered, walking ahead.

When they neared the cruiser, the smallest movement beneath it made Summer raise the shotgun in fear, but also stumble backward.

He saw the paralyzing hurt spread through her body like icy, liquid metal. Saw her clenched fists as she hesitantly lost each step. Saw her feet tremble. Her legs twitch.

The fear in her eyes frightened Rick and he wanted to ask her what the hell was going on? He wanted to ask himself why the hell she got shot? Why the hell did she want to go to that wedding? What made her trust so easily?

Why the hell did he let her get shot?

The guilt are his every being. The blow to his heart that he could never save Summer from hurt and pain. That he couldn't save her from anything.

Not from depression. Not from King Jellybean. Or Mr. Needful. From the Federation. And now not from a bullet.

The guilt was like gasoline in his guts. His insides died slowly in the toxicity, needing no more than a spark to set it ablaze. The fire burned him out so badly there was nothing left but a shell, an outline of a person.

Fuck he hated himself.

His self deprecation was ceased quickly as a small whimper interrupted it.

Rick turned away from physical pain of Summer to the being that made her stumble. Arthrisha had lifted her head and attempted to lift her arm in a surrender motion.

"Please, don't kill me! I-I never intended to harm you, I swear. I am trying to end the festival."

"W-w-what do you mean?" He muttered, not really paying attention to his perpetrator, but at the way Summer clenched the shotgun tightly.

"I was going to use your ship to destroy the rich assholes that run our society and save my people from the horrors of this yearly festival."

Rick rubbed his liver. He wanted to ask Summer what she thought should happen, but the girl wasn't in her correct state of mind. She was still at that wedding, and he hated to admit it.

He saw it when he arose from his body. The way she heaved and moved like a man older than him. The way she tried clutching the monster upon her chest. He tried so hard to ignore because he didn't want to believe it.

He didn't want to think it would ever happen to her, but it did.

And everyday, she was growing more and more like him. Because some many years ago, this happened to him too.

* * *

 _Rick grimaced as the he moved through the lukewarm water, attempting to keep his arms raised just enough to keep his rifle near his chest._

 _The rain that peeled down from the dark Vietnam sky splashed into the water like meteorites on the moon. And it splashed hard enough to rise back up and pelt his face._

 _But, that wasn't why he grimaced so softly. The grimace was sparked from the speech behind. The silly ass words from the mouth of his friend Elias._

 _Elias was the first person Rick had met when he first got drafted because they shared a bunk bed in camp._

 _He was born and raised in a Jewish household, but his parents stemmed very differently from their Hebrew roots. Elias' parents were radicals, and more than once they'd been arrested for going against American wars or encouraging young men to resist the draft._

 _And so when Elias himself was drafted, he insisted on going to do exactly what he was doing now: to inform his fellow comrades on the cons of war and capitalism._

" _I'm telling you guys...there's enough food on this planet for nine billion people. No shortage of food. We could grow enough food for four billion alone in southern Sudan. Stop supporting the food giants, they make you sick with addictive high sugar, high fat, high salt products that can't even sustain lab rats and they don't care so long as sales stay high._

 _The foods are laced with chemicals - preservatives, colourings, flavourings, carcinogens. They don't care if we get sick, so long as they get rich. The world population could fit comfortably into Texas, there's no overpopulation."_

 _Rick thought of Elias as a really great person. In fact, he felt Elias was his true friend in this ever ending war. But his speeches always got a debate going. And Rick would have to stick his neck out and take up for his friend._

 _Someone in the back grumbled and Andy, a farm boy from Texas spoke up, his southern accent thick._

" _You're always talking all of this shit man. It makes sense, but can't we wait until it stops raining? It's too wet for all your religious citations."_

 _Rick turned around. "That was a call against capitalism, not a cry of religious freedom dumbass."_

 _Andy only shrugged. "Apologies, Einstein."_

" _Sup calling me that. The difference between me and him is a good hair cut."_

 _Their small argument did nothing to stop Elias' speech and Rick wondered why Lieutenant Grimes did nothing to stop the three this time._

" _Rick, Andy. We're only here because of bad communication between Nam and America. If we communicate like two closed fists, we're doomed to repeat history. If we open our hearts and minds, our ideas can come together to create peace and harmony, like open hands coming together to overlap, the fingers weaving together._

 _Maybe we can't agree on climate change, but we can agree on the need to protect the ecosystems we all depend on, and doesn't that give the desired result for all? Maybe we can't agree on abortion, but we could work together to make a society where every child has enough food and good shelter - making abortion an illogical choice unless the life of the mother is at stake._

 _If we think that debate equals argument and success is standing your ground, we'll never turn this ship around before we hit the iceberg, and then what? Will we fight over the arrangement of the chairs as we sink beneath the icy brine?"_

 _Rick sighed, but before he could even speak about Elias really keeping quiet, a significant change occurred. The rain stopped._

 _It had been raining for an entire week. And when it stopped, they took notice._

 _Brian, their medic pointed up with a bright smile. "Holy shit guys. Check out the rainbow."_

 _And somehow, that statement- the one that expressed the beauty of Earth in the midst of ravage- was enough to get Brian shot in the head._

 _The bullet had came before them and a series of bullets followed thereafter. Rick couldn't even hear Lieutenant Grimes tell everyone to get down._

 _Right in the middle of his chest came a searing pain, supposed to take him down, but only ended up penetrating his movement._

 _While the bullets continued to spray the land, Rick had dropped his weapon to let his large hands roam his chest, where they found a hole pierced by the metal fire of a sniper rifle._

 _He turned to Andy, but could only see his foot sticking up from the water. Elias was dead too, with the others. The only one returning fire was Lieutenant Grimes as he requested the birds._

 _The man looked toward the standing 18 year old. "For the last time Private, get your ass down!"_

 _And that was enough for Rick to realize he'd just been shot. The hole was large, meaning that the bullet expanded on impact. But right there, the bullet- out of the other side and deep in the water- exploded._

 _And Rick screamed as he fell back._

* * *

He'd made it out of Vietnam for a full year of physical recovery. And that was the problem.

When the wound was patched and they watched him walk a few times, he was sent back in with a new team under the same lieutenant.

He fought the war until they couldn't anymore, but during the time, he couldn't get over the blood. The hole. The expansion. Nor the explosion.

All of that stuck with him for years until they pushed him into war therapy. They diagnosed him and now Summer was being faced with the same issue.

He sighed, wanting to rip his hair out. "We're not going to kill you."

Both Summer and Arthrisha stared at him in shock. He watched Summer squeeze the shotgun and he cursed silently.

"She shot you. She's going to shoot more people." The teen muttered.

"Summer, put down the shotgun." He requested softly. She had yet to raise it, but they all needed to be careful.

"I have to keep it to protect myself."

"Summer…" he raised a hand. "I know you're scared. And it took some time, but now I know why. N-n-no one's going to get to you while I'm here. You h- _eurp-_ ave to believe me, Summer."

She looked around the dark night in fear. "You swear?"

"Promise."

Summer took the long walk to her grandfather. She'd come so close that like a child, she tucked near him, laying her head near his chest.

Rick inhaled, hating what he was about to do, but feeling the need to do it. He hugged his granddaughter, rubbing her back until his fingers found a pressure point.

Summer went limp in his arms and he reached down to pick her up fully. Arthrisha stared at him in shock. "No... I wouldn't kill my granddaughter for you. She's asleep for now. She doesn't need to be awake during this."

"During what?" The cat girl asked fearfully.

Rick placed Summer on his back. "Where are these rich people?"

* * *

Rick yawned as the morning sun rose. With ease, he placed Summer within the cruiser. "Oh man. I know it's about night time back on Earth, so we'll be heading home."

Arthrisha waved. "Hey, thanks for helping me, Rick. You're a pretty great guy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fuck you for shooting my liver. I'll see you around."

As Rick got into the cruiser, he watched as the townspeople crowded around each other and began arguing.

So he shook his head and took off. "Absolutely no point." He muttered.

* * *

 _ **She knew it was coming and her muscles tensed as much as they could. The knowing doesn't even soften the blow. The bullet is as sharp and flammable as it looked and her chest had no target. She felt the bones and heart split into an untold number of fragments as her mind became inoperable. The pain took her not far away, but deep inside herself to some primitive place that knew how to cope with the kind of pain that preceded death.**_

 _ **Her vision is blotched with violet colors that move and merge without pattern or design. The wall of pain still cripples but Tammy swims back into view. Her evil face is just as Summer imagined it to be. Then she smiled in a small way before continuing her narration of Summer's end.**_

" _ **Summer, it's just no fun if you don't see it coming."**_

 _ **Then another bullet came for her head.**_

* * *

Rick cursed as Summer's scream woke the entire house.

"Help! Somebody please! She's gonna kill me!"

The man nearly slipped running outside his room and cursed as he saw the other members of the family standing on the steps.

Morty was running down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. "Guys, we gotta- something- S-S-Summer needs our help."

Rick raised his hands. "I'm the only person that knows how to deal with this. Go ba- _eurp-_ to sleep."

They shuffled on the stairs for a harsh second, a second Rick could have used to make it to Summer. With a sharp hiss, they did go back to their rooms, Summer's screaming echoing after them.

He ran to her room and turned on the light, staring in shock at the tinges of blood on her blanket and fingers. Summer was shaking her head and screaming in agony, but she was also scratching harshly at her chest and the stitches Beth used to close the gunshots wound.

"Summer"

The man ran over and grabbed her hands. "Summer calm down. It's me. Summer, look at me. See my eyes?"

She continued to shake her head in a frenzy. "No! No! Please!"

"Look, Summer." He yelled making her stop and stare with bewildered eyes. "See grandpa's eyes? His blue hair? See it, Summer?"

The girl stared at him. He couldn't determine for how long. A second. Maybe some minutes. Maybe an hour for her to process what was real and what wasn't. To Rick it felt like infinity.

She blinked rapidly and using the hands he held, she squeezed tight. "Grandpa? She asked. Not in a way to confirm it was him, but in a way of asking what happened.

"You're okay, Summer. You're okay." He hugged her tightly as she began to sob.

"What's wrong with me?"

He tensed. "Nothing, Summer. Nothing's wrong with you. You're just afraid."

"I am." She sobbed. "I keep getting killed in my sleep."

"Shh. Let's get you cleaned up."

He'd cleaned the wound again while Beth had come down to restitch it. Replacing her covers, the man made sure nothing out of the ordinary was in her room.

Summer buried herself in the blankets, watching as he moved around the room. "Can you stay, grandpa?"

He ceased in moving the hanging jacket from the door and turned to her. "Huh?"

"Can you stay in here. I don't want to see her."

Silence

Silence

Rick sighed, going over to sit on her bed. Rubbing her hair, he spoke quietly.

From now on, I want you to think of the place in your mind that stores your worries as like a coffee cup. Everything that makes you anxious is more coffee in that cup. Should it get too full, then any bump is enough to make it overflow. What you need is to keep that cup empty.

What you do, sweetie, is go right from a big problem to feeling more relaxed without doing anything to solve it, Summer. It's a form of mental dislocation, a neat trick for those that can do it, an advantage in the right situation. But right now its misuse is your biggest flaw. When you have a problem come to me, Summer. we'll find a solution and then you can relax. It's the only way to keep that cup empty."

Rick yawned and turned off the light and crawled into his granddaughter's pink girly ass bed. It was too soft, but he'd said eighteen years ago that he would go to great lengths to keep her safe. And now was the time.

She curled her knees into his leg and her head into his arm. "How do you know?" She questioned.

He smiled sadly in the darkness. "Because you're just like me, kid. Every emotion you have, I've had once. And most times for the exact same reason. When I was eighteen, I got drafted into the Vietnam war. And even as a genius, my grandmother wouldn't let me skip it. I was shot a gruesome way too. Some days, I felt everything at once. Other days, I felt nothing at all. I never knew what was worse. drowning beneath the waves or dying from the thirst."

Summer nodded, curling even more into her grandfather.

"And I hated having PTSD so much, that I tried to come up with something that would instantly heal my wounds."

"The serum." Summer acknowledged, making her grandfather nod.

"And I'm sure you've been attempting to find something that not only heals physical wounds, but also clears trauma and paralyzation without getting rid of memories."

"How'd you know?"

"You're just like me, Sum." He smiled. "And despite the events, I'm starting to realize that's a really good thing."

 **Finally. I thought I'd never finish this chapter. I don't even know why. I'm a stoner guys. And I'm sorry for that. These days I'm too lazy to write. Lol**


	14. Rick of Sunshine

**Rick of Sunshine**

 **I've noticed that I already had Summer as eighteen years old in previous chapters, so I went back and changed a few things. Only because I wanted it to be very significant when she turned eighteen.**

 **Even so, time was frozen for six entire months and the only people it moved for was Rick, Summer, and Morty. While Summer may think she's older, others may think nothing has changed. So here we go.**

 **I realized that most chapters go into depth with how much Rick needs Summer. But how much does Summer need Rick? And how alike are they?**

No longer was the door open; no bright light came from the hallway. No handle, no way out. Four concrete walls, a linoleum floor, a toilet with no paper and a bare mattress.

The 'seclusion room' was a prison cell by another name. There was nothing to hold her mind or attention. Outside the room could be anything, anyone. There was nothing even to mark time. Would someone come in five minutes or five hours later? Would she know the difference?

Although she was not tied down, she still felt that trapped was trapped.

Soft brown eyes she'd always wanted to trust peeped through the only window, a mean rectangle of glass in the flat iron door.

She pat her knee and turned away, trying to find something else. "Please let me out." she begged, trying to reason with someone, anyone.

The anxiety that was being kept at bay began to win. Her voice got higher, but she wasn't just terrified, she was angry too. They wouldn't let her out.

She swallowed the rising bile and sat on the mattress, feeling the cold floor right through it. No noise. No movement. Time to meditate. Time to bury her screams in her bones, shut her eyes, empty her head.

Before she could block out thoughts of being shot, a gruff voice interrupted. The voice took more than three bottles of alcohol a day, but it still soothed her. It constantly berated her and the family, but it still got her to calm down.

Rick Sanchez had somehow come into her tiny tilting world and hoisted it upright. And all he seemed to use was his voice to save her.

* * *

" _You stole it, huh?" He knew she wouldn't answer and he was ready for some cries when her head turned sharply in his direction._

 _Summer regarded him for a while, assessing his question, he supposed. Eventually, a small glint overtook her eyes, as if she knew she stole it._

 _ **AMAS**_

" _Geez. You know. I wish you two would-eurp- would shut up and get a divorce already."_

 _The stammered voice was coarse like fragmented rock in hessian sack, moving and grinding against each other._

 _The Smith family looked up in unison. Somehow, the voice complimented his ruddy complexion and raised veins._

 _The old man wiped blue hair from eyes as dark as the night sky and fixed them in a serious gaze._

 _Summer had seen him before. And, despite never seeing him in person, Summer felt that they'd met before._

 _ **AMAS**_

" _For the first time in all my life, I'm saying I don't know. Because I don't, kid. Your parents love one another, which is stupid, but they aren't happy together. Besides, it really won't matter if they get one or not, will it?"_

" _If they're happy, I guess not." She murmured._

" _Nah. It won't matter because it's Rick and Summer for one hundred years, right?"_

 _ **AMAS**_

" _I'm not perfect. I know people say I'm smart and mom says I'm pretty, but sometimes I don't feel like it. I'm not perfect. But that's okay because you aren't either. Right, grandpa?"_

 _Rick, despite his mood, laughed. "Hell no. I don't think that's real. I'm not perfect, but I'd follow you into hell if that's what it took to keep you safe."_

 _She hummed and snuggled closer. As her consciousness ebbed, her mind went into free fall, swirling with the beautiful chaos of a new dream._

 _ **AMAS**_

" _It's the least I could do since I...you know."_

 _He watched her bottom lip tremble._

Wordlessly, Rick held his arms open in invitation, and like wind, Summer flung herself into his embrace with a strangled sob. She buried her face into the crook of Rick's neck and they stood there like that for a while; Summer wracked with the force of unvoiced cries and Rick holding her, heart aching for his baby girl.

" _I'm sorry for not listening, Grandpa Rick." She sobbed._

 _ **AMAS**_

 _Rick took one step forward. "Summer?"_

 _And by the sheer sound, the girl took off running toward him. And when she was close enough, she jumped, like a child would leap during its first walk._

* * *

Grandpa Rick's voice rumbled like a storm deep inside of him. It was low and soft but powerful enough to send chills through a body. It was a storm, but a good one. And now, within this simulation that would eliminate her trauma, he encouraged her to be brave.

"Summer." He muttered.

She said nothing, not wanting to open her eyes and see the terror.

"Summer." He pushed angrily. "I'm losing patience here. She's not stronger than you."

"I know." The ginger whispered.

"Then act like it. Get up. Take a nine count if you must, but be ready to stand, and dust off your gloves. You're going to win this fight."

Summer nodded, sweat dripping from her forehead onto her nose. "Okay." Her own hoarse reply nearly frightened her, but her eyes still opened.

There across from her was Tammy, fake friend turned federation soldier. She smiled menacingly at Summer, waiting for the Smith to fold.

Tammy pulled out her gun. Instead of taking a sharp gasp of air like before, Summer growled, lifting her foot and kicking the simulation as hard as she could.

Somehow, it was enough for the entire horror room to disappear. She ended up sitting on a chair in the garage, her grandpa hovering just invade he needed to pull her out.

"Holy shit, Summer. You- _eurp-_ did it. H-holy crap, I'm proud of you, Sum."

She smiled widely. "Me too."

With a soft grimace, he rubbed her head. "Don't be arrogant yet, you little shit." Making her laugh.

Rick checked the time. "Right in time for breakfast too. Come on then."

The Smith family were already seated about the dining table in their usual seats. Beth was serving breakfast while Morty and Jerry waited with small patience.

Sitting down, Summer looked to everyone. "Morning."

Morty smiled wide. "Good morning, Summer. Aww geez, are you excited- you ready for your birthday tomorrow?"

She nodded. She was ready for it, but it didn't feel like anything special. She'd passed another year, as did other people with the same birthday.

"Yup. Big 19."

Beth ceased serving breakfast and everyone, except Rick and Morty stared at her. "18."

"Huh?"

"Big 18, sweetie. You're going to be 18 tomorrow."

She and Rick made eye contact as they both muttered the same consciousness though. _Time freeze._

The slapped her forehead. "Oh man. Yeah 18. I'm not as fast as time himself. For me, it stops occasionally."

Morty laughed, trying to ease their parents' confusion. "Geez, Summer. You have to know that time waits for no one."

"When did you get so smart, booger?"

They faked a good laugh until Rick came in and started laughing too. It was loud and obnoxious and it made Summer laugh even louder. It wasn't until Morty coughed that they both did cease laughing.

Beth stared incredulously for some time. And then she too laughed softly. "Seems like it took me nearly eighteen years to figure out who you took after."

Summer's head tilted. "Huh?"

"When you were younger, Jerry and I always tried to figure out who you acted like. Whose personality you had. You didn't have mine or his. Morty took after Jerry's. But you, Summer, you act just like dad. You're both two sides of the same coin."

Summer too smiled because she liked to think she was like Rick in some ways. Maybe not so much in the cynical and nearly uncaring way, but in the intelligent and individual way.

"Yeah. A little." She murmured.

"So are you excited for the party?" Jerry asked her.

Her eyes widened. "Party?"

Jerry nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Just a small get together to celebrate your coming of age. My parents, a few cousins, and a few of your close friends from school."

Summer grimaced. Who could she trust? The last time she'd been to a sort of party, her supposedly close friend had a hit on her. "Sure."

Rick stood. "Alright, we're gonna head out. Get your lab coat, Summer."

Jerry stood too. "How about we all go as a family." It wasn't really a question and Summer held her tongue before she said something wrong.

Rick stared. "What? Summer and I have a very important mission with Father Time."

"I thought you hated him."

"We don't." Summer spoke. "Just because we messed up time once doesn't mean we don't have a mutual respect for each other."

Jerry shrugged softly, giving them an expectant look. "Well…. One must work with time, not against it."

There was a silence as both Summer and Rick stared at the pure Smith.

Jerry laughed. "What about this one? Time was still hungry so it went back _four_ seconds."

Summer cringed and Rick winced. "Cut it out with the puns if you're coming along, Jerry. They make me queasy." Rick murmured.

Summer giggled. "Yeah, dad. A good pun is its own reword."

After getting it, Rick raised an amused brow at his granddaughter. "A pun about puns? Now _that_ was punderful."

The two giggled at their own idiocy as the family moved to the garage.

* * *

Summer rubbed her healing chest as she played games on her phone.

On the backseat of the cruiser sat Jerry, Beth, and Morty in close proximity to one another.

Like always, her father was the one who needed to speak. "So how are you doing in school, Summer?"

Her brow raised like a milky wave on the sun's ocean. "Is that a real question?" Not really paying attention.

"Just making conversation."

"Are you?" She smirked. "What part of that gives me anything to work with? You watch my every school move. You know I have a 4.5 and I'm an honors student. My choice is to say nothing, be sarcastic, or bark "good" like a trained animal. It's not a conversation. You're holding me verbally hostage."

"Okay, ass-face. I'll talk to Rick since you want to be a jerk."

"Hey, dad." Summer spoke, tilting her phone.

"Yeah?"

"Whatcha doing? About to talk to grandpa? Yeah, you like that?"

"Screw you." Jerry glared. "Hey Ri…."

Rick raised a hand, taking a gulp from his flask. "Don't even attempt it, Jerry. You've ruined this adventure enough. And it was already a big decision to even let Morty come on some."

"You shouldn't drink and drive." Jerry scolded. "My kids are here."

But Rick only took another sip.

It took about 20 minutes to make it to Father Time's home, nestled at the beginning of time.

"What is this?" Morty asked in awe as he stared at the visible atoms of hydrogen gas as well as the small sparks of light.

Summer smiled. "Morty, this is the moment in time that the big bang occurred. The beginning of everything."

They moved past a slow comet and landed on a cool cloud. Summer turned around. "Alright, Father Time is a cool being, but he feels very superior to everyone. With good reason. Don't do or say anything to him that'll be a pain in mine and grandpa's ass."

They moved further through the clouds, before finally coming before a large throne. Sitting on it was a blue man, tall, neither real nor fake.

He was more like a shadow than a physical being - slightly resembling a human shape, but only black smoke. He rippled whenever he moved like disturbed water. The only way Summer could tell he was looking at her were the white eyes with a slight blue hue that stood out against the darkness.

"Rick, Summer." He spoke in a booming voice. "You did not inform me that more scientists would be accompanying you on this mission."

Summer shook her head. "Not scientists, family. They wanted to join. But they won't be a bother at all."

Father Time regarded them for some time, staring more at Jerry than anything. "I hope so. Since his birth, Jerry Andrew Smith has been a bit of a bother."

Jerry gasped. "How does he know me?" He questioned incredulously.

Summer groaned. "Dad." She half whined. He was so embarrassing. "Father Time, as co-leader of this mission, I can guarantee he won't be a noticeable flaw."

She ignored her father's cry of offense and bowed slightly to the great concept.

Rick took a sip from his flask. "What- _eurp-_ she said."

Time nodded. "Alright. A few seconds under my tutelage have gone rogue."

"No minutes this time?" Summer needed to confirm.

"Not this time. Minutes are too young to understand things, hours and years even younger then them."

"Alright. And why have they gone rogue?" Rick wondered out loud and Summer nodded with him. In order for the mission to go well, the two needed every fact to analyze.

Father Time grumbled. "Even I am not sure why. The universe Solstice is coming up and as you two know, this is when my children transform to their next concept."

Rick shook his head. "Didn't like the story, so didn't listen."

Summer facepalmed. "Remember. Each solstice: seconds become minutes, minutes become years, years dissolve until their reborn into seconds. And that takes a while, so a new batch of seconds are created."

"Got it." Rick murmured. "I see the problem."

Father Time leaned forward, intrigued now. "What is it? Why did they go rogue?"

"Y-y-you know, I didn't think about it before, but I think the seconds realized that they'd die once they got to years. Having to wait just to be reborn sounds scary. To them I guess."

Father Time still seemed confused and Summer stepped forward. "What he means is, the seconds just became dangerously aware of who they are."

"And this is a problem?" He wondered.

She nodded. "That's the biggest problem across any multi verse. If I enjoy the life I live, I don't want to find out that I'm just a character in a television show or even some made up fiction. I'd like to think that I just came.

Kind of like you, Father Time. The way you dissolved into yourself, as shapeless as rain. If I found out grandpa and I were just the main characters of someone else's world, I'd go rogue too."

"Are you supporting them?"

"Not at all. I don't want to find out if I'm just within a book as we speak. I'm okay with this now."

Father Time regarded her words. "Okay. Had I known the dangers of self awareness, I wouldn't have told them. Now I am in grave danger and therefore this entire universe."

"What happened?"

"They've gone back into not the icy beginning of me, but the beginning of civilization on your planet. I'm not sure what they'll do, but they're angry. And now I know why."

"What do- _eurp-_ you need us to do?"

Father Time leaned back so that he sat tall on his throne, his scowl bearing into everything born after him.

"Eliminate them from the brinks of me. By any means."

Rick and Summer glanced at one another and then back to Father Time. "Understood." Summer muttered.

The orders seemed clear enough to leave it at that, but Father Time opened his mouth to an O shape. Wiggling his fingers thrice in the air made a small stick appear before his odd eyes.

The stick was pretty. Golden brown with a slight curl at the end. It almost looked like a…

Her head went down, her pink lips letting out a soft snort, only audible to the man next her, who'd snorted too.

Her eyes were closed, but she could feel her grandfather's smirk as he muttered "it's a wand."

Summer suppressed her laugh and looked up as the wand fell into her hand. "What am I doing with this?"

Had she looked even closer, she would have noticed the small smirk that beheld Father Time's lips. The slight fascination in his eyes all focused on Summer Smith, the brave teen.

"You are one of the most intelligent beings in this universe, albeit strangely beautiful mind. I trust you will know when the time arrives, Summer Smith."

* * *

"So how are seconds older than minutes when a minute is longer than one second?"

"Good question, Morty. Seconds come first when measuring time."

"Oh. So are we going to Egypt or Greece?"

Rick swerved the cruiser at Beth's question. "What?"

"He said the beginning of civilization on Earth. Those are the two main ancient places I know."

"And both are wrong." Rick grumbled. "W-why the hell do you want your kids to go to school if they're going to learn dumb things like that?"

Beth said nothing and Jerry crossed his arms. "I don't see you putting them in any better schools."

"Not needed. At all. Summer's nearly done and she's got Morty together. And it's not the school."

"Okay so where are we going then?"

Rick smirked. "Ethiopia."

Morty grew confused and Summer felt bitter because it wasn't his fault that he had no idea what the great place was.

It was the American Education System, so far behind that it didn't mean a thing to catch up.

"I'll teach about it another time." She assured her brother, who nodded a bit embarrassed.

There was a silence well after that told Summer it was okay to think about the day, the weeks, the year.

Yeah that was it.

The year.

Tomorrow was her birthday. And a year ago, what felt like ten years, she wasn't happy.

One year ago, her only hope in living was to die. She'd hated everything, herself at the top of that list.

She'd been alone too. So busy in trying to keep Morty away from the fire, she hadn't noticed it was she life wanted to burn.

Utterly alone, drifting like clouds in a midnight sky. So close in touching life and at the same time completely isolated.

 _Yeah,_ she mused softly, laying her head against the window with a smile. A lot of things sure did happen over a year.

She'd tried killing herself in various ways, multiple times.

Had been simulated.

And nearly violated by a jelly bean King.

Left Earth Dimension C-137.

Committed multiple crimes and atrocities. So much that the Council of Ricks, the Intergalactic Federation, and Father Time deemed her a threat.

Had been used by Mr. Needful and used him as a punching bag in return.

Slit her skin too deep and ran away from home, getting tortured and 'killed' in the process.

Found out just why her existence was so scarce and eliminated both the Council and the Federation in response.

Was shot in the chest, leaving room for the occasional heavy breathing, clutch of the painful chest as it tightened, and the slow walking.

And now she suffered from PTSD, ranging from mild to drastic occasionally.

And the crazy thing was, it didn't bother her.

Last year, she had been through the whole process alone.

And now she was with her grandfather, not facing any challenge without him standing behind her pointing a weapon at whoever threatened her happiness or existence.

Summer smiled softly. She was glad the year turned out the way it did.

She was glad he came back.

In that moment in whatever time Rick had them in now, Summer felt satisfied. As if having completed a deeply, personally needed action.

And it was expressed by the slightest curve at the mouth's corner and a youthful confidence worn in a light raise of the eyebrow above a quizzical, joyful eye.

"-mmer."

The girl jerked up slightly. She'd heard something. "What?"

Rick glared. "Were you even listening to what I'd just said?"

Summer let out a soft yelp. "What'd you say?"

"I said what's got your head in the clouds? You- _eurp-_ re smiling like a silly idiot."

She crossed her arms with poise and Rick continued to look straight, a crooked grin on his face, because she was like him. "Oh yeah, so what if I was?"

"If you were a silly idiot?" He smirked.

With an ever growing quick mind, it didn't take long for Summer to realize that her grandfather had taken her words and mixed them to his advantage. She crossed her arms with a grumble, but her crooked smile at his clever comeback gave her away.

"You're such an ass." she laughed, punching his arm.

There was a huff from the backseat and Jerry leaned forward. "Summer, I know you're excited about becoming an adult, but you're not an adult yet….so...watch the language."

Rick rolled his eyes to keep from banging his head on the steering compartment of the vehicle. Sometimes there was no way for Summer to just be herself and Jerry made it no better.

"Jerry, shut up." He grumbled. "That's strike two."

"Woah. No strike at all." Jerry growled back. "I told you, Rick. You can't tell me how to raise my kids."

Rick opened his mouth, but Beth leaned forward. "Both of you stop now. I can expect this from Jerry, but really dad."

Rick rolled his eyes and Jerry put his hands out in exasperation. "Thank you!... I think."

* * *

"There's nothing here for us." Morty commented. "Where are the people?"

Rick bent down, touching the flowers that someone had obviously been tending to.

"Must be travelling around. And it doesn't matter. We aren't meant to be seen anyway. We're here to take down those seconds and get back to Father Time."

Summer nodded. "We should have something to track them with."

There was a darting movement and Rick turned around, smirking at the sight. "You've seen it on the cartoons when someone moves so fast all they leave is a blurred trail of color, right?"

"Yeah?" It was more of a question because she didn't know what the hell her grandfather was speaking about. But what she saw in the distance made her smirk. "Oh..yeah."

She moved forward, now standing next to the scientist and raising a fist. When his own first collided with hers, the smirk grew. "Boo yah."

Before them were of course the liquid oil trails left behind by the small second bots. They must have been horseplaying a lot, which made it easier for Rick and Summer.

But in the distance was also the seconds themselves; small tin men running and jumping.

Summer crouched on her knee as did Rick. He handed her a copper needle and long range gun, setting up his own thereafter. "How many?"

"Just two. They look like they're getting tired. The shit should come soon."

Before Summer could graciously thank the man, the gun she'd been looking through the scope of was ripped from her grasp.

She yelped, falling back into the soil and ruining both the crops and her lab coat.

Jerry raised the sniper with determination. "I can handle this, sweetie. You just move bac-"

She reached up. "Dad, no!"

But it was too late. Jerry shot the needle and somehow, it missed by a long shot.

The ancient birds in the new trees scattered every which way and the seconds looked up at them.

Summer shook her head in disbelief, staring ahead. "What have you done?" She murmured.

"You fucking idiot." Rick growled, but he too was quiet.

Jerry nervously chuckled. "Let me just try again. I mean, what are you two so nervous about? They're just children."

His statement or the time that had passed finally pushed someone into taking action. One of the seconds stood and growled, having remembered Summer.

He pointed his tin finger at Rick and winked, disappearing into the air like a wisp.

"Holy fucking shit." The teen murmured.

Jerry placed his hands on his hip. "Summer Smith, what did I tell you-"

Rick stood, pouncing on the man. "Shut the fuck up, Jerry. You manage to ruin everything, don't you? You fuck up."

"Grandpa Rick, we have to move you out of this time." Summer begged, grabbing the sleeve of the man's lab coat.

Rick's eyes widened. He'd never seen Summer so nervous; the way her eyes darted over his body with fear. The way she kept looking everywhere. "Woah, Sum, calm down. You're reminding me of Morty."

Just as she opened her mouth to worry more, Rick jolted. With a horrified confusion, he lifted his hand into the air to examine it.

There upon the pale skin of bones were dust particles hanging just above the stumps of his fingertips.

Summer nearly fainted, not sure what to do. Father Time had told her about this; about the way he and his children could manipulate time because their being.

How he could turn Summer into a baby, just setting back in time.

How minutes could move forward just a bit.

How years could retell the present.

And on the rare occasion, how seconds could somehow eliminate a single life with the use of their metal fingers.

Because it just happened to Rick and Summer had no idea what to do.

The pixies, or Rick's remains, threw a dust into the air. Unlike confetti or glitter, gravity had no way to make it fall. It swirled in the air above, a glorious cloud. As Rick swirled his limbs, it swirled too, changing its colors with the rhythm of a beating heart

It took only about four seconds for Summer to register the fear she held. By that time, both Rick's arms were missing. Summer grabbed hold of him.

And that seemed to make him disperse even faster. Almost like Summer exploding into the pretty liquid particles, Rick was now tearing apart.

He flew in the harsh wind that manifested and she leaped.

She ran after his fading body, like the winter breeze colliding into inanimate objects and crashing waves hitting the shore line. Like an eagle soaring across the indigo sky and a herd of cheetahs racing through verdant meadows.

Her long, ginger coloured locks whipped back and forth behind her like a fiery tale as she flung herself over sharp rocks and heavy tree trunks. For some time, she didn't know where she was nor did she know where she was heading. She had no idea what time it was and no clue what day. All she knew was she had to keep running forward.

Not stopping for anything.

Rick twirled and seemed to stumble as the wind danced with him. "Oh shit. It's tearing me apart. It's tearing me apart. Holy sh- _eurp-_ it, Summer!"

"Think, Summer, think." She muttered to herself. Suddenly, she halted. "The wand!"

Rick continued to skew away. "The what!"

"The wand!"

"The what?!"

Shaking her head, the girl grabbed it from the deep pockets of her lab coat. Facing it at Rick's dust form, she striked and yelled. "Move on!"

She'd assumed her grandfather was disappearing too fast back in time, so she'd ordered time forward, if only slightly.

When such happened however, what was left of his body, his torso, head, and dust all around, came crashing back into her.

The girl once again fell on her bottom, but watched in sudden awe as Rick began reforming….

….in water form.

He too looked at his liquid arms and his eyes bulged out.

Not knowing what she was thinking, the girl pushed her hand through his torso, almost laughing when he yelped.

The water moved softly around her outstretched fingers, caressing cooly, eddying in their wake. She pulled her hand out and watched the drips, both transparent and opaque at the same time. They fell as if snatched by gravity to the ground below, each one swiftly haloed by ever-growing rings, distorting the pebbled sea-bed. In the breeze, her hand was cold, yet warmed by the Ethiopian sun.

Rick finally formed back, and all water and dust was gone.

Sumer laughed when he did. "We don't have to use guns. All we need is the wand."

"And to kill Jerry."

She wasn't sure if he was serious or joking, but she nodded anyway. She'd been this close to losing her only support, and still she could not ignore how afraid she still was.

* * *

Father Time grimaced at Jerry. "I knew Jerry Andrew Smith would be a near disaster to this mission. But as always, you completed it, Summer. Thank you."

"Just try to be more subtle with your seconds. Or all of them will be dangerously aware." Summer muttered, still slightly shaken up.

They turned to leave, finding their way back to the ship.

She had almost lost Rick. In the icy cracks of time. Lost and to never exist in the future.

The blink that called to un-moisten her eyes was long and hard. She fought her thoughts as they fought back.

"What's wrong?"

Her green eyes blinked again and found the dark ones of her grandfather's. "Huh?"

"Why are you starting off into space like I do? It's freaking me out."

"So you can think, but I can't." She muttered irritably, glaring as he did.

"Hey do- _eurp-_ n't get angry with me because you enjoy Father Time's company a little too much."

The girl opened her mouth for a quick rebuttal, but froze. She and Rick stared at one another and after a while, Beth, Morty, and Jerry stopped too.

She couldn't believe he'd said that to her. She couldn't believe she stared as he did too.

But the most shocking thing was that, while they both stared, both started to chuckle at the same time.

It frightened her really, how often they had the same moods. How they often found the same things funny and held the same ideas.

"Gross. Father Time is as old as time itself."

Rick crossed his arms with a smirk. "That was my initial thought too."

Summer lost herself in another fit of laughs. "Let's just get home."

* * *

 **THE NEXT DAY**

"Summer, sweetheart, could you hold this up?"

Summer watched as her mother struggled to tape party decorations across the dining room opening. With a heavy sigh, she complied.

"Mom, do we really have to set up for my birthday. Who wants to celebrate another year closer to death?"

Beth laughed although her daughter was serious. "Because, silly, everyone's so happy to see how much you've grown. Your friends, my side of the family, Jerry's par-"

Summer snorted. "We all remember how that went."

Jerry walked in on cue, breathing heavily as he carried three large presents. "Hey, I just needed a little getting used to. I'm completely fine and my parents don't make anything odd."

"Still doesn't change that everyone's just showing up to figure out what gifts to bring to my funeral."

"Summer!" Jerry screeched.

"What? It's true. Birthdays are only here to prepare us for the deadly future we all can't escape."

The presents were placed down and Jerry crossed his arms in a scolding manner. "Well, not everyone thinks like you and Beth's father, now do they?"

Summer sighed, letting go of the decoration as her mother finished taping them. "Dad, the world is full of idiots that don't understand what's important. Take it like this; A guy gets older and older until eventually, his last birthday party is his funeral."

On que, Rick walked in taking a gulp from his flask, Morty hot on his tail. "Believe her or not, it's true."

Jerry grumbled. "I don't care what you believe, young lady, you're still going to help set up and appreciate that other people appreciate you."

Summer smiled at that, surprising her father. "And I do. It's the little things. You don't need to throw me a party to show that you appreciate me."

Jerry took a while to process her thoughts, but in the end he smiled too. "I'll remember that. But this is the big year, so try to enjoy it…..please?"

Summer sighed. "Fine, dad."

"Thank you. Now, Rick, Morty, are you two going to help set up before the guests arrive?"

"Wish I could." Rick spoke. Everyone stared at him. "Okay okay. So I don't want to help. And I really can't. The president of the United States just called us in for a mission with a few….escapees from Area 51."

Summer looked up with large interest. But Rick's next words could well be changed into a kick to the gut. "But you can't come, Summer. The president strictly asked for someone to cancel out my large brain waves. It's Morty or your dad."

Summer's chest twisted in slight pain and she didn't know whether to feel hurt or bitter. Instead, she smiled softly. "Well, you'll be back in time before the party ends, right?"

Something on Rick's arms beeped and he looked down with a sigh. "Probably not, Summer. But happy birthday. I really have to go. Come on, Morty."

Grabbing the nervous boy's arm, Rick opened a portal and they were gone.

Summer remained where she was for a while as the house grew eerily silent. But it was just her. Beth had went back to setting up and Jerry went to calling guests.

* * *

"Haaaa-p-biiiirth-daaaayyy toooooo yoooouuuuu!" Summer smiled around everyone as they all ended the song.

"Make a wish, Summer." Nancy urged with excitement.

Despite her solemn mood, the girl did make a silly wish and blow out her 18 candles. Everyone cheered.

The party went on from there, but she still felt bad that Rick was out enjoying their adventures… with Morty nonetheless. She understood that he didn't want to take her away from her friends and family, but couldn't the president wait?

She opened a few gifts and her parents gave speeches about how great she was and how they knew she'd come of age properly.

Still her mind was on an adventure. She just wanted to be away. Because maybe her small town wasn't for her. Maybe she just wanted to be herself.

She loved every person there, but she wasn't as normal as them. She didn't enjoy the regular life they did. She loved science. She loved being about. Finding new things.

Right now, Rick and Morty were able to do what she enjoyed. And it wasn't even that which bothered her.

It was her grandfather. She almost understood. He didn't enjoy planned parties without alcohol. Not did she.

But, they were supposed to go through everything together. They were supposed to have each other's backs.

The girl placed her head on the table, sitting down her last gift.

And out of all the people at this party, he should have been directing it.

Because there was really no one else in the world who'd seen her grow as much as he did. Who'd had her back as much as he. Who'd been through the strangest, toughest, most heartbreaking, but beautiful, adventurous, and life-changing year ever just like her. Alongside her.

"Summer, did you like Morty's present?" Beth asked as she began cleaning up.

The ginger looked at the time, blushing. She'd been sitting there for hours now, probably absentmindedly bidding goodbye to guests. With a nod, the girl stood, beginning to gather all the presents to take.

Just as she had, the door slammed open and one of the guests, her aunt June, Jerry's sister, had came back in, a look of fright on her plump face.

"Oh dear. Turn on the television. The news, the news! Hurry."

Summer's eyes narrowed with confusion, but still she flicked on the TV to keep her aunt in one piece.

The news anchor was speaking fast and diligently. "We interrupt this program with breaking news. A large television has just appeared over the continents of both North and South America. Nothing much is happening yet, but local theories are popping up everywhere that it's a message from aliens."

Summer rolled her eyes. It wasn't aliens. But she suspected that it had to be Rick and Morty. They probably needed to take desperate measures to complete the mission.

It made her feel even more alone. Before she could flick the channel, the space TV buffered and Rick appeared.

Everyone gasped but her. Rick grumbled as he said some more words. "Is it even on?"

"Yeah. I'm squanching right now. You're live."

Rick took a deep breath and a long sigh. He rubbed his temple. "Look, I don't usually do this for a lot of people. Actually, I've never done this for anyone. You're lucky you are who you are. I'm not the best at expressing the way I feel right in front of people. I'm a Rick." He scratched the back of his neck with a frown.

"And Ricks don't do love. In fact Ricks don't do emotions because then we'd feel less then a Rick. But you know what they say. C-137 is the Rickest of them all. Look, I'm going to be honest. When I first found out about you, I was bitter. I hated you and I wanted you gone. But then I got excited… because there was a possibility that you didn't exist in my world."

Rick sighed and Beth came to stand next to Summer. "What is going on with your grandfather?"

The teen just shrugged, wondering who he was speaking to. Was it Unity? It would explain why Rick seemed so down.

"But you did. You did in fact exist in my world. When I first saw you, I didn't know whether to be shocked it afraid. So I chose both. Shocked that the Rickest of them all got stuck with you and afraid for her life.

I spoke to you for a while, just testing the water, trying to figure out if it was too cold out to swim. I thought you were like him and I was going to hate you for that."

Rick laughed then as if he thought of something funny. "But you weren't. Well you _aren't_ like him should I say. When we first met, I figured maybe you should have been crying; sad about the things that were going on around you. You weren't though. You were mischievous and witty and giggly. And you kept grabbing me; holding on to me. Telling me that I didn't need to be sad either.

After that day, everything changed. I watched you grow until I decided not to watch anymore. Instead, I was going to teach you to grow. But you didn't need that. You had already grown by yourself. You became the leader of your own journey."

Rick smiled sheepishly and so did Summer. "And right now, I bet you're smiling because you just figured it out." She laughed.

"And no I'm not watching. I just know. And I know because I know you. And this might sound crazy, but I know you because I know myself. You're just like me.

When things don't go our way, we deal with them by wrecking shit up. It may be harmful and unhealthy, but we still enjoy ourselves without thinking about the consequences.

We're both intelligent. You're not valedictorian because they're just a bunch of dipshits that are scared of how great you are."

Summer put her hand over her mouth with a giggle.

"And we're pretty egotistical, the two of us. I know this is taking long, but it's just coming off the top of my head. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad you did actually end up existing in my world."

Once again, he scratched his neck. "Look…. Ricks don't do love, but I love you. I've told you this, but I'm not sure you get it. All the love I have in this universe goes to you. You're my granddaughter."

A few of the party guests gasped, but Summer just smiled.

"Summer, you mean the world to me. And nothing or no one can ever come between that. We're two sides of the same coin. So happy birthday."

The large screen went off and the television began to shrink.

Summer continued to look up. "Oh my gosh. Best birthday ever!" She squealed. "Now the whole world knows how awesome I am."

* * *

Summer squealed as she watched Rick's space cruiser pull into the garage.

Morty hopped out first. "Aww, geez, Summer. I didn't think you'd be up this late. Did you see the broadcast?"

Summer smirked. "Sure did."

"You're gonna be so excited to see what Rick got for you."

She squealed, wondering if it were something cool. She had been asking for her own gun that shot antimatter. And she'd also wanted a freeze ray because she was too lazy to make her own.

Rick grumbled as he got out of the cruiser. "Your mouth sure does continue to create its own path, M-m-morty."

The boy blushed with a yawn. "Sorry. Well I'm going to go to bed now. Night guys."

Summer waited excitedly for her grandfather to finally step at least two feet from the cruiser before jumping on him and hugging tight.

"Woah. Wha- _eurp-_ t's gotten into you?"

"I haven't seen you in days!" She said with exasperation.

Rick smirked with amusement. "We left thirteen hours ago."

At this realization, the girl rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I can't help it. I've spent an entire two days understanding things about myself with regards to you…. It's crazy. I'm more like you than I thought. And I care more about you than I think."

Rick grunted. "Want your present or not?"

She let him go. "Yes. What is it? Is it an antimatter gun? Is it something cool like an extraterrestrial body perfectly capable of an Anatomy Park? Ooh. What abou- oh."

The girl grew quiet as she stared at the pink, blue, and orange scrapbook Rick pulled from his lab coat.

On the cover was a small child; ginger tufts, pink onesie, large green eyes. Holding her was a man, maybe in his early thirties; blue hair, band shirt, conceited smirk.

It was Rick holding her.

 _ **One Hundred Years… Rick and Summer**_ was the title.

She opened the book with curiosity and a wave of emotions hit her. All kinds of memories captured on their adventures together. Movie nights, mini golf, ditching homecoming for a regular session on the house roof.

Summer giggled. That was the first time Rick let her drink.

There were some individual pictures of Summer in elementary school, middle school, band practice, her first spelling bee.

There were individual pictures of Rick with his mother, with Squanchy and Bird Person, with buddies in Vietnam.

But what Summer liked about the individual pictures was the fact that Rick placed them right next to one another, just to show how similar they truly were.

Next to Summer holding up her spelling bee medal was a picture of Rita Sanchez and Rick as he too held up a medal for a spelling bee competition.

Next to Rick, Bird Person, and Squanchy playing on stage was Summer and Nancy holding up their flutes in 7th grade.

"Yeah. I know it's not exactly an antimatter gun, bu-"

Summer laughed softly, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, but also failing miserably. "I told you." She whispered, sniffling as he hugged her. "It's the little things that get me. Thanks, grandpa."

Rick nodded. "No. Thank you."

 **Why was this so long? Jeez. Anyway, this is the chapter. Review and tell me what you like. If I'm taking to long to update, just pm me and I'll get right to it.**


	15. An Endless Summer

**An Endless Summer**

" _No no no." Summer spoke in a bossy manner. She leaned forward, snatching the object of her slim desire from the boy's hand._

" _Mth. Sprinkles isth a great King, Morty." The five year old spoke in a demanding manner as if her little brother, barely over a year, would graciously praise her commands. "You can't treat him like that."_

 _She cradled the doll as she glared into space. Having lost the warmth of the plastic on his hands and the possible teether, Morty's cheeks grew a pretty pink; the one often holding Venus at dusk and dawn._

 _His fists balled and a soft sound left his mouth. Green eyes widened and she jumped up quickly, her eyes filled with fear. "No. No. No." She pleaded._

 _But it didn't work. Morty's mouth separated vastly and some spit sprinkled upon her as he cried with ferocity._

 _He cried and cried. And when the distinct sound of soft stomping inched closer, Summer jumped up and ran, hiding under her bed._

" _Summer." Her father called. "What's wrong with Morty? What did you do?"_

 _The little girl rolled her eyes. "_ _ **I**_ _didn't do anything. Morty kept biting Mth. Sprinklesth head."_

" _So you took it from him?" Jerry asked incredulously. "Summer, you know he doesn't stop crying for hours when he starts. And mommy and daddy have very important work to do."_

 _The girl crawled from beneath her bed, pointing at the torn hair of her precious doll. "But, daddy, Ms. Sprin-"_

 _Jerry put a finger up. "Save it, missy. Morty is your brother. He's very important to you. Not some gender confused doll."_

 _He picked up the loud sobbing Morty from his seat. "Now sit here young lady and think about how much you interrupt mommy and daddy when you're selfish."_

 _With that he walked out, leaving the five year old to her thoughts. She sat on her shins, observing her doll with a large pout._

 _She liked Ms. Sprinkles. He was important. With the head of Marvel's Hulk and the body of Barbie, Ms. Sprinkles had become the King of LaLa Land. And he was Summer's great friend._

 _But the silence of her room was heavier than that of Morty's cries and her father's soft song to him. And that made her realize just how alone she was._

 _She balled her fist and threw the doll across the room. She waited._ _ **Three seconds. Five seconds**_ _._

 _Her eyes filling with tears, the girl scrambled across the floor and retrieved Ms. Sprinkles, hugging him close to her. "I'm thorry." She spoke through her braces._

 _She didn't need to throw him. Nothing was his fault. It wasn't his fault that Summer was always alone in her room. With nowhere to go, some of her dolls were her only friends._

 _Something dropped behind her and the girl turned, staring at her picture that fell from the dresser._

 _The closet door opened with a spooky creak and out of curiosity, she stood. Unlike other children, Summer did not run from her room or hide beneath her covers._

 _No. She couldn't._

 _The bright pink light in the back of closet was too pretty to ignore. Holding Ms. Sprinkles close, the girl stepped forward with a cautious stride._

 _One step._

 _Three._

 _Six._

 _With her mouth open, the girl attempted to touch the light before her. However, she yelled when she was lurched forward._

 _All at once, she was falling and flying, her eyes closed so she didn't have to see either._

 _A soft voice spoke clearly to her. "Hi. I'm Tinkles. And welcome to your world."_

 _The girl opened her eyes, only to see that she hovered over a soft fluffy cloud._

 _Her eyes widened. She was flying!_

 _Looking up, she stared into the blue eyes of a bright lamb with a rainbow unicorn horn._

" _What ith thith plathe?"_

 _The lamb, or Tinkles, spun with joy. "You have such a pretty face and such a cute lisp. And are those braces I see? Aww."_

 _The five year old blushed as Tinkles continued. "Summer, this place is all yours for however long you want. What do you want to call it?"_

 _Summer looked around at the smiling clouds. And the laughing flowers. The ponds. The singing sun. Everything was so awake._

 _The little girl smiled brightly, her pink braces shining. "Never past bedtime land."_

 _Tinkles spun and spread her arms, creating a rainbow. "That's a perfect name. Come on, Summer. I'll show you around."_

 _The girl stepped forward, but stopped. Tinkles turned around. "What's wrong?"_

 _The ginger turned, and sure enough Ms. Sprinkles lay amongst the clouds. She reached down. "Mth. Sthprinkes hath to come with usth."_

 _Tinkles smiled and spoke the exact words the girl wanted to hear. "Ms. Sprinkles is important to you, so that makes him the best thing in the world."_

 _The girl squeezed her doll and followed after Tinkles._

 _When she spoke, she spoke with wonder and curiosity. "I can have this whole place?"_

 _And she was deftly unaware of the man hiding behind one of the singing trees. He ran a hand through his shaggy blue hair and when he spoke into his microphone with a deep voice, Tinkles spoke the same words at the same time._

" _Summer." He muttered softly. Tinkles turned with a soft loving smile. "Little little Sum Sum. You can have the world, Summer. You can have the entire universe. Just say the word and it's yours."_

* * *

Summer squealed when she woke up the next morning after checking her phone.

Downstairs, her father sighed with a smile. "I wonder what set her off this time."

Rick grumbled with food in his mouth. "It's too damn early."

"You're hungover, Rick."

"Fuck you, M-m-morty."

The sound of running ended their argument and everyone stared as Summer ran in, hair all over her head, pajamas still on.

Beth smiled. "Good morning, Summer. Your food's on the stove."

The girl spun. "Ethan just asked me to prom."

"That's great, sweetie."

Jerry's mouth, eyes, and hands moved with fear, and he placed his hands on his head with anxiety. "Isn't that the same boy that was pestering you to go too far?"

Rick snorted with sarcasm. "He asked you so romantically. Must be a- _eurp-_ piece of shit."

Summer ignored her grandfather's statement. "Dad, Ethan's changed. Since junior year, he's matured."

"Not enough to ask you properly." Rick muttered.

Summer again ignored him as she sat with her plate. "He said that he'd been nervous to ask since the beginning of the year…."

Rick rolled his eyes, figuring that if Summer drowned him out, he'd do the same. Leaving his plate, the man stood.

Summer stopped talking and Morty stared at him. "You're not gonna finish that?"

"I-i need to use the bathroom, Morty. It'll take ten minutes. By then, she'll be done with this godless-awful story."

Summer shrugged and went back to speaking excitedly as Rick left for the bathroom.

And true to his word, Summer was quietly eating in content when he returned.

Beth and Jerry were in some sort of debate about the Titanic while Morty played with his food.

"I'm gone for ten minutes and the Smith family is at it again?"

"At what again?" Summer questioned.

Rick paused dramatically, making the girl smile in amusement. "Being yourselves."

The girl laughed, but quieted as she heard the steady strum of a guitar. It started rhythmically slow before a steady tune broke out. By then, the entire family was quiet.

"What is that?" Jerry inquired.

"Is it coming from outside?"

They all stood, following Summer as she opened the front door.

"O...M...G." Summer muttered. Ethan stood on the sidewalk, strumming the guitar in his hand.

" _Oh, Summer. Please let me take you to prom. We'd have fun. We'd have fun."_

Summer snorted. "Ethan." She called. But the teen just kept strumming and singing. "Ethan!"

He stopped and looked up. "Oh hey, Summer."

The girl shook her head. "I already told you yes."

"I wanted to ask….." his eyes roamed to Rick's and he cowered back slightly. "Properly." He finished.

Summer smiled too. "Thank you, Ethan. Yes. I will let you take me to prom. But please keep it down. You're going to wake the entire neighborhood."

Ethan nodded graciously and started to fast walk down the street.

"What was that all about?" Rick questioned innocently, taking a large gulp from his flask.

Summer shook her head. "I won't have anyone to go to prom with if you scare them away."

Rick put his hands up in a surrender motion and stepped back. "You think I did this? Summer, I'm of-"

Summer stared deeply.

Rick sighed. "Okay, so I might have _persuaded_ him to ask again. B- _eurp-_ what do you expect? I'm not going to let some asshole treat you like crap."

"Language." Jerry muttered.

Summer groaned in embarrassment. "That's not the point."

"That's not the point." Rick mocked in a high pitched voice.

"Mom, do something." Summer begged.

Beth did not look up as she continued to eat. "Dad, please don't run Summer's prom date away."

Summer groaned and stood, putting her dish in the sink and storming out of the kitchen.

Everyone looked to Rick. "She'll be fine. Tomorrow, I'll take her dress shopping after school."

* * *

"Ms. Smith, since you love speaking in class, please explain Hubble's Cosmic Expansion theory."

Summer sighed. "Hubble noticed that there were other galaxies besides our own. He also discovered that these galaxies were zipping away from our own, a motion he called recession.

In order to quantify the velocity of this galactic movement, Hubble proposed Hubble's Law of Cosmic Expansion, aka Hubble's law, an equation that states: velocity = H × distance. Velocity represents the galaxy's recessional velocity; H is the Hubble constant, or parameter that indicates the rate at which the universe is expanding; and distance is the galaxy's distance from the one with which it's being compared."

The teacher stared blankly at Summer for a while as did the whole class.

Bitterly, she shrugged. "What? I answered."

The teacher looked away. "I just needed the simple equation, Summer. Not a brief history of time."

The rest of the class laughed as the bell ring.

"One more week until prom and graduation is the following night. Senior year is ending, but this isn't time slack off." Students began filing out. The teacher waved a paper in the air. "Your particle physics paper is due tonight at 11:59. Have a wonderful weekend!"

Nancy stepped into stride with Summer as they walked to lunch. "Ms. Porter is _such_ a bitch to you."

Summer nodded. "She's been picking on me since ninth grade. I don't know half the things I do wrong."

"You're just smart." Nancy muttered in soft pity.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

They stood in the lunch line and Nancy shrugged. "Nothing big. Anyway, you excited for prom?"

Summer bit her lip. Sure. Sure she was. Well….at first she was. She knew she'd be able to get a pretty dress if grandpa was helping out. Her long time crush had asked her to prom. Hell, what was there not be excited about?

But still, the teen couldn't miss the sudden urge to roll her eyes at the mere thought of it all.

"I guess."

Nancy snorted. "You guess?"

"I mean…. What is prom if it isn't like homecoming with fancier attire, props, and food? What is prom but a bunch of hormonal teenagers reminiscing with the same people they had beef with all four years?"

Nancy laughed at her friend. "Well, you should be excited. You're going with Ethan."

They got their lunch as they moved to their table and sat. And this time, it was Summer's turn to snort. "Ethan? He isn't special. Let me find another clingy blond haired blue eyed teen that could be the poster boy for Hitler and no one at prom would notice. He's the same decaying organism just like the rest of us."

Nancy laughed with her. "Well, today in economics, I heard Becca talking about how blessed you should feel that _anyone_ would want to take you to prom. She said you might be smart and pretty, but that doesn't eliminate how different you were from the rest of us as kids."

Summer froze, nostalgia hitting her like winter wind that managed to burn. "Different?" She muttered quietly.

Nancy looked up then, fearing she'd said something wrong. "Yeah. You know?... She said you used to be evil. But don't think anything of it. She's totally jealous. You know she's been crushing on Ethan since like 5th grade."

Nancy continued to speak, but Summer was slightly lost; remembering things that she blocked out for her own sake as she grew.

* * *

" _I WANT IT!" Summer glared hard at the little girl that screamed in her face._

 _The six year old was currently on the swing that she had gotten to fair and square._

" _I wath here first, Judy." She spoke calmly._

 _Judy stomped hard. "If you don't give me the swing, I'm going to tell my mommy." She smirked._

 _Judy Jennings' mother was Ms. Jennings, their first grade teacher. And she showed favoritism to her daughter if Summer had never known it._

 _Summer rolled her eyes. "That's not fair. I was here first and you know it."_

 _Judy screeched and stormed away, making Summer laugh. But, the tickly feeling in her belly didn't last long when she heard the God awful shriek of Ms. Jennings._

" _Summer! Get down this instant! Hitting other classmates will not be tolerated!"_

 _Summer growled as she was yanked off the swing by her teacher and dragged toward the school building._

 _Thrown into a desk, she and Ms. Jennings glared at each other. "Now, you sit here until you learn some respect."_

 _Summer groaned as loud as she could when the woman left. She never won. No matter how nice she was, people would always run over her._

 _As if the deity above was on her side, the girl caught sight of the first grade shelf, where art supplies lay, including paint._

 _She smirked._

 _And a week later, although she hadn't initially meant for Ms. Jennings to slip on the paint_ _ **and**_ _break her leg, she loved how when she returned from suspension, the mean lady was still in the hospital._

 _Still, her measurements were never wrong. How the heck could 2 cups of paint make someone slide five feet across a room? The paint wasn't deep enough, and therefore, should have dried out at about two feet._

 _ **AMAS**_

" _Summer, what is this?" Beth asked, holding up the paper that had a huge read frowny face on it._

 _She squinted at it. " It lookth like my quiz."_

 _Beth nodded. "That's right, young lady, and do you know why I'm showing you?"_

 _They were quiet before Summer shrugged in innocence. "Becauthe the frowny. The frowny on it."_

 _Beth began to read the questions out loud to the little girl. "Number one asked 'can you name something where people share and everyone benefits?'"_

 _She let out a heavy sigh. "You said 'Communism' which is correct, Summer, but it's not really correct."_

 _Summer just stared and the woman went on._

" _Number two asks 'what ended in 1896?' you answered '1895.'"_

" _Number three asks 'what do you call the science of classifying living things?' you answered 'racism.'"_

 _At this one, Beth sighed._

 _Summer blushed. "But, mommy, Racithsm ith the-"_

" _Summer." Beth interrupted with a heavier sigh. "Your answers are very smart. But sweetie, sometimes they're too smart. You're in first grade; if you overthink things, they're bound to be wrong."_

 _ **AMAS**_

 _Summer watched in anticipation as the neighbor's cat walked into the street._

 _Just as she calculated correctly, he walked right toward the place of her flopping goldfish._

 _The girl waited and just as she'd expected, there was the sound of screeching tires and a harsh meow._

 _What surprised her however was the failed grade she'd gotten for presenting the organs of her neighbor's dead missing cat at her science fair._

 _What surprised her even more was the sudden shock of all her friends who knew nothing about animal organs._

* * *

"-mer, Summer?!"

The girl's stupor was broken as Nancy waved her hand in her face. "Yeah?" She asked dumbly.

"I said do you wanna go dress shopping with me?"

The girl shook her head. "Can't. Grandpa's taking me."

"Well let's at least get our hair done together."

" _That…"_ Summer emphasized. "Is feasible."

Nancy nodded and went back to eating her lunch, leaving Summer to her thoughts.

* * *

"How was school?" Jerry smiled as she and Morty walked in. The man sat on the couch watching interdimensional cable while Rick worked on something.

Instead of answering with a 'good' or 'fine,' the ginger went straight to the point.

"Dad, do you….do you remember when I was five. And I used my goldfish to kill Mr. Bernstein's cat because I wanted to explain feline anatomy in science?"

Rick looked up with a curious gaze and Jerry grew strangely uncomfortable.

"Yeah sweety, why do you ask?"

The girl looked away. "Or that time I tried making a rocket and I broke Morty's leg when I launched him because my velocity was off?"

Summer blushed heavily and her father tried to speak again.

"Or that time Mrs. Andrews son bet he could jump down the stairs without breaking a leg and I did the math and pushed him just to show he was wrong?"

"Summer, where's all this stuff coming from?"

The girl twiddled with her finger tips. "Am I….. Am I evil?"

The question seemed to silence the already quiet room, the only sound creating itself being the sweat dislodging and relodging of Summer's twiddling fingers.

Jerry too seemed at a lost for words. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, sputtered, then closed it again.

Summer shook her head and stormed away with sorrow. "I'm not going to prom." If it took him that long to think, he didn't need to answer.

Morty face palmed himself. "Dad." He grit in exasperation.

Jerry quickly rose to defend himself. "Well, what was I supposed to say?"

"No!" Morty screamed and just as he took off, Rick stopped him.

"I'll go speak t- _eurp-_ o her."

When Rick found Summer, the girl was busy scrummaging through an old box in the attic labeled 'Summer's inventions.'

He raised a brow. "What are you doing?" He questioned.

She kept searching. "These are things I created when I was younger."

He crouched next to her. "I know that, remember? But why?"

"I made these things for the greater good." More scrummaging. "Hah!" Summer pulled out a pink gun. "I made this to locate tumors in people's bodies."

Rick sighed. "Summer… it's a laser that you wanted to cut people with _in order_ to remove the tumors."

The girl seemed defeated before she found something else. "I made this robot to help mow peoples' lawns."

"Summer, you tried giving it emotions and it killed your hamster." Rick seemed to grow irritable then, only because Summer seemed so pressed to explain herself.

"But this-"

" _That_ managed to hack the traffic lights and cause five non-lethal accidents."

She grabbed for something else. "I know this-"

He growled. "Summer, Jesus fuck! You weren't a saint and you never will be! Is that what you wanted to hear?! There's a reason all these things are taped tightly in a box!"

They sat in silence then, Summer coming to the sudden realization of theory and Rick edging it on.

"But my imaginary friend Tinkles made this. This had to be good."

"Summer…" Rick sighed, hating that he was revealing this to her. "Every living creature in _Never past bedtime land_ has an ounce of your personality and intelligence. It's just not true."

More silence.

"I agree with the look of shock on your face."

Summer threw the gadgets back in the box and slammed it shut. "You're such a dick."

"What?"

"You seriously couldn't let me have a childhood, could you? I get that you wanted to protect me from the Federation and the Citadel, but not letting me create my own imaginary friend? Going as far as inventing a place so that you could protect me from the world?"

Rick rolled his eyes and stood with a grimace. "I - _eurp-_ didn't make it to protect you from the world."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh really? Who did you want to protect: Morty?"

"No."

"Mom?!"

"Damnit, Summer, I did it to protect the _world_ from _you._ " that silenced her. "All these crazy ass inventions and you think I'd let it go on? Your parents wouldn't do anything, so I stepped in. Because pretty soon, it wouldn't just be animals and pets."

The girl's mouth hung open. "What are you saying?"

Rick moved closer and he spoke with so much venom, he didn't need to raise his voice. "I'm saying, sooner or later, if I didn't make that world, you'd end up killing a human being."

The girl glared and the two bulls stared at one another. "I don't believe you."

Rick opened a portal. "I know myself so much that you're predictable." Before she spoke again, he pushed her into the portal and hopped in afterward.

Summer free fell with her arms moving drastically. "Grandpa Rick!" She screamed.

She closed her eyes, waiting for impact, but the sound of her grandfather right in her ear scared her. "Chill, Summer."

Opening her eyes, she stared in bewilderment at the fluffy clouds she lay on. Staring around at smiling clouds. And the laughing flowers. The ponds. The singing sun.

"Why bring me here?"

"To show you how you were as a child." He pointed to a bouncy house hospital. "First stop, sneeze and snuggles hospital for the toys."

They flew to the facility and Summer blushed at the large sign in front.

 _Remember, all toys, hard and stuffed alike, are free to be operated upon without regard to their financial status._

"You tried creating this into a capitalist market." Rick reminded.

"That doesn't make me a bad person."

Rick grabbed her arms and pulled her inside. "That's not even a quarter of it all."

When they went inside, there was a stuffed hipped getting an X-ray in the front room. Another sign made Summer blush.

 _Remember, Summer, only X-rays are allowed here. Gamma rays are too dangerous._

"Okay. I get it. What does this have to do with anything."

"Summer, even this created world of toys, full of joy- _eurp-_ and wonder and all that bullshit, needed to tell you to cool the fuck out on your crazy attacks."

The word crazy made her feel weird and the conversation with Nancy splashed like a tsunami back in her face.

"I get it. Even my own demons will ask me what the fuck I'm doing. But… Does that….does that mean I'm evil?"

Rick sighed. She was missing the whole point, he thought. "Worse….. you're smart. And no one will ever understand that. When you play science, you eventually end up playing god. And often more than anything, you took it that far."

"And that disturbed people." The girl concluded.

Rick smiled softly at the girl. "Right on, baby. But the thing is, you can't let things like that get to you. If Ethan, or Becky, or whatever the fuck their names are don't accept you, they don't deserve you. Because you're one of the two smartest beings in this entire universe, multiverse, omniverse."

"And I don't need the opinion of lesser beings to dwindle me." Summer smirked.

"Right again. So…. Are we gonna go shopping for a prom dress or what?"

Summer nodded.

* * *

"I kind of like this one." Rick muttered as they assessed a purple dress.

"I was thinking more of a navy color."

"If this too girly for you?"

"Just don't like the color."

The store attendant nodded and spoke to her boss in her native language. "¥€× ¶€¥£."

The dress before them was folded and pushed toward a shoot that read _to outer space_.

Almost immediately, a dozen navy blue dresses were displayed.

And there was one that caught the girls eye. It was navy, yes, but the embroidery upon the neckline and torso, made her mouth water. Amethyst, orchid, royal blue, and gold.

She and Rick turned to another at once, unaware that both were staring at the same dress. "That's the one." They muttered.

Summer smiled. She couldn't wait to tell Ethan all about the colors.

* * *

Smer ran down the stairs and grabbed some toast from the table and a few 20s from her father's wallet.

Jerry raised a brow. "Are you going shopping or…?"

"It's my day with Ethan today since prom is tomorrow."

"Summer." Jerry stopped her with authority in his voice just as one foot left the dining area.

"Yeah?"

"Did you finish your graduation speech? You know you're valedictorian now so you can-"

"Dad. Don't worry. I finished it." She lied easily, making both Beth and Rick look in her direction. She couldn't help it. She and Ethan hadn't seen each other in three days.

Jerry nodded. "Thank you, sweetie. Have a go-"

But the girl was already gone. He sighed. "She didn't finish the speech, did she?"

Beth shook her head. " Not even close."

Rick shook his head. "Said she was going to wing it."

Jerry just let out a heavy sigh as they continued eating.

Summer had walked to her car with a huge smile on her face. Despite what she said about him and his clinginess, Ethan was a good person. He wasn't exactly unbearable and he did his part in this last minute prom process.

Today, they were having a picnic and going to sit by the shore. Summer hoped it would turn out really well. Prom was tomorrow and she wanted to just be comfortable with her date. As well as he with her.

With a quick text, the girl was one her way to the park, singing along and drumming to random stations.

"Livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere. Just a city boy. Burn and raised in South Detroit. He took the midnight train going anywhere."

Stopping at a red light, the girl quickly checked her phone, opening at unread messages from Ethan.

 _Everything's all set up. Can't wait. ;)_

The girl unconsciously grimaced in disgust and closed her phone. Beforehand, he'd told her that he wanted to go to prom with her, no strings attached.

But the eighteen year old should have known how predictably clingy the blond would be. Despite his initial request, Ethan had been making advances on Summer.

With graduation and college cooking up, the girl had absolutely no time for horny men.

Pulling into a spot on the street near the park, Summer got out and began walking to Ethan.

She waved small, but smiled big. "Hey."

The blond smiled back. Summer halted slightly in her step. For fear of being questioned, she moved ahead to quickly then, resulting in her almost tripping.

Ethan ran ahead, grabbing her hand with as much concern his face could muster. "Woah, Summer, you alright?"

Her faux smile calmed his faux nerves. "Yeah… I'm fine."

But was she really? There was a moment that had passed so quickly, but seemed so profane, that it simply could not be ignored.

What was it? What could it have been? There was something when she saw him. Something he did? Something she did? Something the world had done?

The girl was led to the picnic this time by Ethan, who still looked….concerned?

Her brain moved motors in her mind. No thief, however skilled, could run her if knowledge. And since she was younger, knowledge was the best and safest treasure to acquire.

It was Ethan.

Something was so surreal that it seemed so natural. When she walked over; when she waved and smiled big; when Ethan waved back, there was something with his smile.

He had contorted his lips into an awkward, toothy smile, his but his cheeks were not so compromising.

It was so forced that the girl snorted out loud. Ethan looked up with another fake expression. This time a goofy grin. "What?" He asked.

She shook her head. Was there something wrong with this meeting? Yes. Was she gonna call it out and miss the chance to play it smart? Hell no.

"Nothing."

Ethan shrugged. "Well, let's eat."

And eat they did. While Summer stayed cautious, she didn't let her suspicions stop her from entertaining herself. She ate, spoke, and often amused Ethan.

And she had done so well by the time the sun was setting and they were looking out over the tides, she was almost fooled by her own facade.

But then there came the time when she couldn't. When she looked over at Ethan, he'd already been staring at her guilty.

With an internal sigh, she asked "What's wrong?"

"Summer…. There's something I need to tell you."

The sound of the tides hitting the rocks seemed to quiet down. "Yeah?"

"Summer, we had a lot of fun these weeks. In fact, I'll say we had so much fun since we were kids. I mean, I grew up with you and you were always pretty cool. It's just that, we're so young, Summer. We're so young that we still have love to give. What's fun about commitment, right? When we still have life to live?"

She tilted her head. "Is that some song you just quoted?"

Ethan sheepishly nodded. "It's Khalid."

Summer stood. "Say what you need to say please."

"Summer…" he began nervously. "I can't go to the prom with you. I can't go because I'm going with Becca."

She had seen it coming all. It was sunset for fucks sake and she knew exactly what he was going to say. About prom. About Becca.

It should've hurt less now that she knew.

"So you listened to the things she's been saying about me?" She inquired.

"What, Summer, no! This is all me. I made this decision myself. Summer, it's not you. It's me."

She mulled over those words before saying something that embarrassed her former date. "That is true."

"Huh?"

She punched him.

"Ouch! Jesus, Summer!"

"That's for listening to what other people say, not being a man, wasting my gas, making me wear my nicest dress for today, and not doing this sooner."

She walked away, leaving the boy to clutch his bloody nose. "Summer, wait! I do like you! I just want prom to be-"

She turned, bitter. So angry that tears were leaking from her eyes. They weren't for him. Just for her. "Stop, man. Once you stop looking for people to be perfect, you'll get the chance to really like who they are. See ya."

The girl left him standing alone as she walked to her car. Done crying, she'd chosen to just ignore her emotions. She was going to go home, write that graduation speech and sleep for prom tomorrow. The show had to go on.

Her phone began ringing and she answered after clearing her throat. "Hello?"

"Sweetie, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You're good, mom."

"Okay. Well, on your way back, could you stop at the grocery and get some more cake mix for your grad party?"

"Sure, mom."

"Thanks, sweetie. Have fun, love you."

"Love you too." They hung up.

Summer turned down a corner street, choosing instead to go to a smaller market.

Did she feel like seeing people with mascara all over her eyes? Probably not.

The girl kept her head down when she walked in. Never living in another town her entire life, Summer knew exactly where the baking aisle stood. She turned quickly, instantly regretting it when a pain seared through her.

"Holy shit…" someone spoke. "Are you okay?"

She had no choice but to look up then. And when she did, Summer was so stricken with admiration that she ceased movement. So shocked that she hardly noticed the way his eyes crinkled in sadness when he observed the day tears and mascara.

"Holy shit." he said again, this time softer and guilty. "Are you okay?"

She said nothing; only continued to stare at the man. The light, it seemed, was coming from him. He couldn't be human, because he was quite perfect. But he was human, and that was the strangest thing about him.

When he spoke his voice was the most beautiful song, more beautiful than she could ever have imagined, or later could describe.

He didn't look like some of the guys she liked before. In fact, she reminded her of herself. Red hair, fiery and darker than her own, with hazel eyes that burned like the sun. He looked awkward with his freckles and too-large-for-the-face glasses. He dressed as if he cared more about his intelligence than the latest trends. And despite all that, Summer caught visual of the tattoos underneath his jacket sleeve when he reached for his falling items.

Even the one by his neckline that was surely a….UFO?

 _Nerd,_ she thought.

Instead of mocking her speechlessness, the man placed down his remaining groceries and cautiously reached for her hand. She took it without hesitation.

They stared at each other for a while after she stood up, not really assessing the other by the appearance, but rather the color of their eyes.

It was only when his jaw twitched does the girl look away and bend down to pick up his things. "I'm really sorry. I should have been looking."

He shook his head and began to crock as well. "You're completely fine. I often dream when I'm awake too."

She looked up, startled by the comment, only to find the man already looking back at her. "I'm sorry?"

He shook his head and rose again. "Nothing. Uhhh….. this is going to sound very perplexing, but do you know where the tampons might be?"

She crossed her arms playfully. "Now, what makes you think I would know?"

He laughed. "I'm not from here. I'm from Connecticut. I just assumed you were. But I can assure you I'm a man, if that particular thought is going through you mind."

She giggled. "Go all the way to the end of this aisle and turn left. They should be against the wall."

He let out a laugh that showed his pretty teeth and formed a husky breath. "Go ahead and ask." He encouraged.

"Huh?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "About the tampons."

She laughed once again. "Something you'd like to let a stranger know?"

He smiled at her. "They're actually for my little sister. She's my best friend and she's got really bad cramps today, so yeah."

He still seemed embarrassed with being forced to ask about the tampons in the first place, so Summer shrugged.

"No worries. When my little bro turned 14, I bought him a few comics…. With a few porn magazines in between them."

Instead of growing weirded out, the man laughed boisterously. "The things we do for love, I'll tell ya."

They were quiet again, just smiling at one another before Summer backed up just a little. "Well, I should probably get out of here and get home. Uh, it was nice meeting you…."

She trailed off, missing the slight pout in his eyes.

"Kyle."

She smiled. It fit him well and she liked it. "Summer." He gave a half smiled that turned to a soft smirk.

"That's a beautiful name."

And the words were so highly said in truth, Summer believed him. So highly said with emotion, she felt he wasn't only telling about the name.

She blushed and he seemed so awkward that he in turn blushed.

"Thank you" she whispered, walking past him and quickly grabbing the mix, and leaving.

* * *

Summer let her mother zip up the dress in the back. Beth started at her for a while before finally saying, "you look so beautiful."

And after so many years, Summer finally believed her.

"Thank you, mom."

"That piece of shit Ethan is gonna eat his words."

Even if she wanted that, Summer was far past the little boys in her life. She'd given them chances. Ethan. Toby. Frank. But for so long, she'd been trying to move their legs without realizing she fell behind.

As a new found woman, Summer had plenty of time to keep finding herself.

"Mom, I'm awesome. I'm not going to dwell on some idiotic boy from high school. I'm going to walk across this red carpet, and then I'm going to walk across that stage tomorrow."

Beth smiled and Summer almost regretted her words because the blond woman's eyes filled with tears.

"Mom…" she warned, but almost very softly.

Beth shook her head; covered her mouth. "I'm just so proud of you. Ever since you were a little baby, you were so smart. So wise. So independent. Mommy's little girl."

Summer sighed. "I love you too, mom." And she meant it. She leaned forward and they hugged for a long time.

Until finally, it was time for Summer to go down to the limo waiting.

Beth lifted the train of the gown as Summer held tightly to the rail. When she reached the bottom, still staring at her shiny heels, there was a flash that lit up the dim room.

She looked up, finding Jerry there with a solemn smile on his face. "You look beautiful, sweetie."

"Thanks, dad."

"Alright!" Rick yelled, smiling big. "Let's get this party started."

She looked over Rick and Morty, smiling as Morty rubbed his hands together and Rick took a sip from his flask. Both man and teen wore black tuxedos. Both were attending Summer's prom.

Morty smiled and handed her a rose. "You look awesome, sis."

"Thanks boogerhead."

* * *

"Woah, Summer. You look….."

Rick growled and stepped toward Toby Matthews. "Keep it moving, dipshit."

The teen scurried off.

That was how the night had been going. So many guys had been trying to make advances on Summer. Rick scared them off and Morty apologized profusely.

Summer shook her head with a laugh. "Hope you don't do this tomorrow."

Rick smirked. "Summer, I _eurp-_ guarantee no one will find you attractive in an oversized nightgown."

She hit him. "That's my graduation gown, you dick."

All three laughed. "Anyway." She muttered. "Let's go out on the balcony in about five minutes. I spiked the punch with half a Xanax. Don't wanna be here when shit hits the fan."

"W-w-what?" Morty questioned, mortified. "Aw geez, Summer, t-t-those are pretty dangerous."

Summer just smirked. There was a commotion across the grand hall and they all looked, finding Ethan screaming as he tried to remove his clothing.

"Get the rabbits off me! Get em off me please!"

Morty was the one to laugh first. "Holy crap. Is that what they do? The Xanax?"

They watched Ethan ran past them, tripping over his pants that lay at his ankles.

"Yup." Rick muttered.

A catchy tune blasted from the grand hall's speakers and Morty smiled at them. "Ooh. Love this song. Let's dance?"

Rick nodded. "Greatest idea you had in a while, M-m-morty. Come on."

They moved closer to the floor, beginning to dance. Summer hadn't expected for her prom to end up like this, but somehow, she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

She breathed heavily, almost wanting to run away as to not embarrass herself. How could she forget the goddamn graduation speech?

" _Shit. Shit. Shit."_ She muttered.

Turning her head and fixing her cap, the girl smiled sadly at her family.

As the valedictorian's family, the Smiths were allowed to get front row seats. Morty and Beth smiled softly at her, her father nodded in encouragement, and Rick gave a slight thumbs up and scowl.

Summer smiled back at them. She didn't know what was going on in the mind of that old man.

 _Why the hell do I have to go to this graduation?_ He'd constantly asked this morning. _It's not like we already know what's going to happen._

But then, he'd turn to her as they sat near one another in that garage. Morty had gone to bed after prom, but Rick and Summer had chosen to grab two lawns chairs.

And all night, they had shared the stars and a couple of beers.

He'd smiled proudly at her with a twinkle in his eye that told her….she'd come a long way.

 _You know, Summer, I graduated as Valedictorian too. Didn't really have much to say, but when I did, I said a lot._

"And now, I'd like to welcome our top student to the stage to give us words before the ending of this ceremony. Summer Smith has finished 12 years with a 4.7 academic grade point average."

Her principal helped her up the stage steps and to the podium. She was finally here. There was no going back. Inhaling and exhaling, the girl once more looked at her family and then the entire auditorium.

Her friends, her teachers, her enemies, and so many more people she'd met in these odd years of life.

"You know…." She began softly. "I always knew looking back on my tears would make me laugh, but I never knew looking back on my laughter would make me cry."

There were a few quiet awws in the crowd and Summer continued.

"Admittedly, I had nothing to speak about five minutes before walking up those stairs. There was no inspiration. Nothing to really spark an idea for a few words to what? Inspire you, make you laugh, cry, bring up a few nostalgic memories. Believe me, I tried finding the inspiration.

I walked down those halls memorizing everything- the gym, the classrooms, my friend's desk, and the memories of a year that went all too quickly. And I got the oddest feeling, stiiring in my chest like the steady forming of a tornado.

Here I was, leaving for the last time. No coming back for homeroom on Monday; no more thanking God that it was finally Friday; no more sleepy classes; no more gym; no more laughing with my friends about a stupid prank. I was gonna miss this place."

The few students that had been mindlessly tapping away on their phones were now staring at Summer, intrigued by her words about their past four years.

"A few days ago, my brother asked me how the speech was going. He wondered why it was so hard for me to write about things I always complained about since I was 14. But look at it this way…"

She looked to Morty.

"One day, you'll be taking your last school tests. And have your last fire drill and report card. One day, you'll have your last wild Friday night with people you've made a million memories with. One day, you'll close your locker and walk out of those doors for the last time. One day, you'll stand in an alphabetically ordered line dressed in a cap in gown with people you watched grow up. With people who watched you grow up. A lot of those people you'll never seen or hear from again. One day, you'll barely remember these people you knew until one day you'll come across a picture that reminds you. One day, you'll be packing up 18 years of your life and saying goodbye to your parents. One day you won't be in high school anymore."

She had no idea where all of this had been coming from, but she felt it. She felt it so much, her tone, her lyrics, that a few students were in their seats wiping tears.

"And I know because all of that is happening to us right now. Sure, we may try to pretend we won't miss this. The way Ms. Johnson would always give us a paper to write _and_ homework."

The dark teacher, who most students had known since her time at the elementary school, smiled proudly as a few students laughed.

"Or pulling those all nighters because Coach Swanson wanted to be sure we really did our pre-workout sessions. Or even starting that large food fight in the cafeteria and losing our privilege to go to homecoming."

There were some large laughs and Summer smiled softly.

"To think that after 12 years, I'm still not ready to leave. I just talked about the people we've met in the last four years and if we remember them…. In ten.

And yet, one fine day, it's our turn. We're going to leave homes, cities, and maybe even countries to pursue grander ambitions. We're leaving friends, lovers, and possibilities for a chance to roam the world. We're defying our fear, Holding our heads high and doing what we once thought was unthinkable: walking away."

Once more, it was silent. A nostalgic silence that made even Summer sad.

"And it's scary. At first. But…. What I hope you'll find in the end that in leaving, you don't just find love, adventure, and freedom. More than anything, I hope you find you. Thank you and goodnight."

Everyone stood and clapped really loudly as Summer was led off the stage. She didn't know how she felt, but she surprised herself with the things that came out of her mouth.

When she got down the steps of the stage, everyone still stood, clapping loudly.

She closed her eyes, despite all the hardships she faced in these years, despite craziness, she'd made it.

And it was only after she around turned to see the tunnel, that she had realized it was finally behind her.

Only after she'd risen, to realize she enjoyed the dream.

The superintendent of the district wiped her eyes as she stood back at the podium. "My…. That was beautiful, Summer. Especially since I watched all of you grow from children playing house at the playgrounds of Charles A. Gilson park… to shadowing a professional for senior project."

"I'm extremely proud of you all. And I wish you all the best." The woman winked at Summer. "Some of you may not need it."

Summer smiled. Maybe she didn't. Maybe she did. For what she was about to do, she could only hope.

Summer sat between Rick and Jerry, smiling as Jerry kissed her forward with an "I'm proud of you, sweetie."

"Thanks, dad."

The superintendent continued to speak when Summer finally turned to Rick. He'd already been looking at her, a grim expression on his face, hiding the pain that she couldn't find.

"You don't have to do this, Summer." He nearly pleaded, but added an "it's stupid."

The superintendent continued. " _And I will miss you, despite all the hardships we faced."_

Summer shook her head. "Grandpa, I _have_ to do this."

" _And I hope that no matter where you go, you find you."_

"Summer, just think ab-"

" _Class of 2017, remove your hats."_

"Out it. You- _eurp-_ know your strength and intelligence."

Summer removed her hat. "Grandpa, it's my decision. I'll write you when I can."

" _You are officially part of this society, not as high school students, but young adults, ready to start your lives."_

The hats were thrown in the air.

* * *

It happened the morning after the graduation party. Morty woke up with a soft one, one that told him he had a good night's sleep, but also with a tinge of a bad dream he couldn't remember.

He went to the bathroom first and brushed his teeth, not really having a purpose on this morning. Just moving to move.

He yawned again when he left his room, walking downstairs aimlessly.

As if fate had a way of showing you things, Morty nearly slipped on a Titanic sticker, catching his balance on Summer's bedroom doorknob.

Morty turned his head in confusion.

Summer's _open_ door.

Summer never left her door open in summertime. Being so frail growing up, she was always anemic. The AC of the house was chilly to her and her room was practically a den. The outside weather determined her room weather.

Therefore, in the heat of summer, she kept her door closed to keep out the cold.

Morty laughed a little. He had made no assumptions based on the facts he threw out, but why was he so confused? Summer could have been in the kitchen, or even bathroom.

Then why did he have a sense of deja vu; as if he would open this door and see the inevitable? The escape Summer always managed to complete.

He sighed, opening the door, finding exactly what he was looking for.

Summer was gone. In fact there was no trace of her ever being there, but a bare bed with a note.

Morty sat down, carefully reading. With another sigh, he looked up as Rick passed to the kitchen without so much as a glance into Summer's room.

So he knew, Morty thought. He had no idea how long Rick knew, but he could tell that Rick wasn't fazed by it.

Breaking the news to his parents was tough, because despite how much they begged Rick to go find her, Rick had no idea where she was, and she was an adult now, they couldn't hold her forever.

They ate quietly, only speaking to ask Rick the occasional question that revolved around the whereabouts of Summer Smith.

"You don't know where she is?" Beth asked for the fifth time, this time with melancholy doubt.

Rick wanted to scream. He wanted to shout and growl and sob and cry. Because despite what they thought, it was him hurting the most. He'd seen Summer ready to leave. Heard her leave. Begged her for days not to do what she apparently 'had to do.'

He missed her too. What would he do with her gone? Go on adventures with Morty?

* * *

 _Summer looked around the house before she stepped into the portal. When she could feel or hear no presence, the woman moved in._

 _She looked around the world, and smiled softly. It had been years since she last visited this world she once assumed was all in her head._

 _But still, it just wouldn't feel right leaving without saying goodbye to these creatures._

" _Summer…"_

 _The girl turned around, staring into the striking blue eyes of her once believed imaginary friend, Tinkles._

 _It was funny; she hadn't seen the thing in years, but it felt like only yesterday she was a child, being led by her small hand._

 _Her eyes moistened and she smiled a soft smile. "Hi, Tinkles." She whispered._

 _The Lamb reproached that smile and sank down to the clouds, almost looking defeated as if she knew the words to come._

" _I haven't seen you in nine years and two months." She laughed softly. "You were nine the last time you came and Morty had been taken to the hospital because he ate the head of one of your dolls. You cried all day."_

" _You remember it like it was yesterday." The ginger commented._

" _That's because it was yesterday." Tinkles countered. "The world doesn't move or matter unless you're here."_

" _..."_

" _..."_

" _...I'm leaving soon. And I won't be back for a long time. Maybe never."_

 _Tinkles nodded solemnly as if she knew. "Do you have to go though?"_

 _And the woman seemed to miss the words come out of her mouth. As she missed the man standing behind the tree, speaking the same words Tinkles could hardly whisper._

" _You don't have to, Summer. You don't have to prove yourself at all."_

 _Summer shook her head. "It isn't about that. I just…. I….. look, the decision was made and despite my fear, I'm going to stick with it."_

 _Tinkles had rendered herself speechless, never trying to stop Summer, because Rick couldn't find it in his heart to hold her back._

* * *

"No. Damnit, d- _eurp-_ id we all forget how smart Summer was? She took down an intergalactic government and bureaucracy. It's done. It's over. N-n-n-now all we need to do is be patient, get on with our lives, and eventually, she may drift back to us."

That quieted the Smith family and left Rick to wonder: was he telling them or himself?

* * *

 **Two Months Later**

Summer got out of her truck and grabbed a backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

The town she'd ended up in seemed pretty desolate; almost like Planet Thry, but a lot more human. There were a few abandoned buildings, but more so old age looking stores. It really didn't matter to her, she'd only be here to rest, eat, and keep on drifting.

 _'Four states down, thousands of miles to go.'_

There was a slight murmur and Summer had been so fucked up in the head, she instinctively reached for the small laser gun hidden by her waistline.

She didn't really know what she was expecting; Tammy, rogue federation soldiers, King Jellybean, Aiden. She really didn't know. The thoughts made her wonder if she really was ready to do this when she couldn't even take the smallest noises. But they were pushed away.

The girl looked over, finding a man leaning against a well. He was a priest and looked to be no part of this dingy town. Kneeled before him was a man, his head resting against the priest's knee. And Summer couldn't tell if the man wanted to be there as the priest murmured prayers over him, holding his forehead so tightly in place, it seemed red.

The priest seemed so engrossed in helping this man kneeled before him. "Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

The priest breathed heavily as if those words were hard to struggle out. "Repeat those words, my son."

The man kneeled upon the ground and nodded, tears spilling from his dry eyes, clenched and guilty. "Lead us…" he whispered. "Not into temptation…." With difficulty. "But deliver…" and then broke off. "Us from evil."

Summer couldn't tear her eyes away until the priest, having felt eyes upon the scene, looked up. She blushed in embarrassment and walked to the motel.

By the desk was a woman engrossed in a paper and Summer reminded herself that she was still a silly American teen when ' _who still reads the paper'_ crossed her mind.

"Excuse me?" She mumbled.

The woman looked up and smile softly. "What can ah do for ya, sweetheart?" Her southern accent thick.

Summer placed money on the table. "I'd like a room for two nights and a map of the city please."

The woman nodded and began working in a book. "Hm. You ain't from 'round these parts are you?"

Summer shook her head. "Washington."

"D.C.?"

"No…. The state."

"Hm." The woman looked up her. Finally looked upon her image. "You look young. Maybe 18. Where you headed all alone?"

Summer shook her head and out of her mouth came the most honest answer about all of this. "Nowhere really….. Anywhere."

The women smiled softly. "Welp, here's your key. And you take care of yourself."

Summer nodded a thanks and went upstairs to her room quickly, wanting to just be asleep.

She sighed, not really knowing what to do. She wanted to sleep, but could she? She wondered how the family was doing. How they reacted when she wasn't there. She wondered if she left for good reason. She wondered a lot.

For what felt like an hour, but was really ten seconds, the girl sat there, still wondering.

Eventually, Summer stood, running down stairs and practically storming out of the motel. Looking directly at where she needed to go, the woman sighed in relief when no one else stood at the well.

The priest was still sitting on the other side, this time reading a small Bible. Her dad had always been the religious one, but how else would she atest for her actions. To all those people. To all those Summers. To the people she killed. To the aliens she killed.

She stopped arguing with herself and sat on the other side. What did they already say when one sinned so much? One time, her father took her to a church. It was when Beth was pregnant with Morty, and the man had nearly have the woman grey hairs why he left Summer at the park.

"Forgive me father. For I have sinned."

She heard him close the book and he sat there for a while.

"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Repeat those last words."

Summer inhaled. "Holy Mary, Mother of Good, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

 **Okay. I know lots of you are wondering what the hell is going on. Although it seems pretty clear. Now that Summer is of age, she has a lot to figure out about her actions in the past. And the only way too do that was to leave for good and free herself.**

 **I know exactly where Summer will end up. I can't tell you this however until the time is right.**

 **The question is, now with Summer gone, will Rick stay in the Smith household?**

 **Where is Summer headed and why the hell has she just semi become Catholic?**

 **These are the questions people.**

 **Four more chapters left. And then it's over. I may create a sequel however.**

 **PS. Who can guess where Summer is headed?**


End file.
